Here’s another summer update from the Local Government News Roundup, including:
Results from three Council countbacks; a mayor steps aside to run for State Parliament; a call for more councils to ban gambling advertising at local sports matches; the acting CEO taking his own council to VCAT; a call for protected speech laws for councillors; a CEO resignation and more.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
Listen to this episode here, and find the link for your podcast player here for any of the 189 episodes to date.
Transcript (with story links):
Episode 189 LG News Roundup, 17 January 2023
Hi, this is Chris Eddy, with some of the latest stories making news on the Local Government News Roundup – brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
Councillors – the annual VLGA FastTrack Councillor Leadership Development is coming up on Friday 31st March, with the theme “Leading in Times of Chaos’ Check out the VLGA website for registration and more details.
The mayor of the City of Monash is calling on more councils around the country to ban all gambling advertising at local sport matches.
Cr Tina Samardzija told the Guardian this week that councils should play a bigger role in preventing gambling harm, and not wait on state or federal action on the issue.
The City of Monash has implemented an anti-gambling policy that is believed to be a local government first – but as the Guardian story outlines, local sports clubs and gaming venues have concerns about the impact on funding.
Baw Baw Shire Council Mayor Annemarie McCabe will contest the supplementary election in the seat of Narracan later this month.
Cr McCabe has taken an immediate leave of absence until the election is complete.
Deputy Mayor Michael Leaney will take over mayoral duties in the interim.
Read the Council’s formal statement here.
Three countbacks have been so far conducted to fill vacancies created due to the election of former councillors to state parliament.
Ben Ladson has won a computer countback to fill a vacancy on Greater Shepparton City Council created by the resignation of former mayor Kim O’Keeffe.
Five unsuccessful candidates from the 2020 election contested the countback. Two other candidates from that election are no longer eligible for election and were excluded from the countback.
At Swan Hill, the position formerly held by councillor and mayor Jade Benham has been filled by Jacquie Kelly – one of six remaining candidates from the 2020 election.
And at Port Phillip where there were five remaining candidates, Robbie Nyaguy was elected to replace former councillor and new parliamentarian Katherine Copsey.
Another three countbacks are scheduled for this Wednesday 18th January to fill vacancies at Yarra, Stonnington and Colac Otway. I’ll post the results to the Roundup website as soon as I have them, and we’ll catch up in our next summer update due in a few days’ time.
A senior executive at the City of Greater Geelong is challenging a planning decision made by his own council at VCAT.
The Age reported this weekthat Guy Wilson Browne, currently the council’s acting chief executive, is seeking to overturn the rejection of a two lot subdivision proposal on land that he owns in St Albans Park.
Mr Wilson Browne recently resigned his substantive position as a director city services to take up a general manager position at North East Water next month.
The development application attracted a significant number of objections, and was refused by the Council despite approval being recommended by officers.
Victoria’s Local Government Inspectorate has released the results of a review of councils’ compliance with the Local Government Act 2020.
The new legislation required councils to create or update a range of policies over an 18-month period, and the review found that councils were largely in compliance.
More than 1,000 individual policies and documents were reviewed, resulting in an average compliance rate of 93% across the state’s 79 councils.
The Inspectorate has made eight recommendations to improve documentation, on matters including CEO Employment and Remuneration Policy, Governance Rules and Election Period Policy, and Audit and Risk Committees.
It has also suggested that Local Government Victoria provide formal guidance around the appointment of CEO employment matters committees and on how independent professional advice should be obtained in relation to those matters.
More detail on the Inspectorate’s review is available here.
Queensland’s peak body for councils has renewed calls for protected speech laws for the state’s councillors.
According to the Western Star ($), the renewed push from LGAQ CEO Alison Smith follows a legal threat to a Maranoa Regional Councillor Cameron O’Neil over comments made in a council meeting.
Cr O’Neil was speaking in opposition to a proposed deal with Rex Airlines. According to the newspaper report, Rex Airlines has demanded an apology for what it described as ‘unfounded and malicious’ comments.
Ms Smith told the newspaper that mayors and councillors have a democratic right to discuss and represent their communities in decision-making processes, and they shouldn’t fear being sanctioned for asking questions and speaking out.
The CEO of Moreton Bay Regional Council, Greg Chemello, has resigned and will finish in May.
Mr Chemello has held the role for three years, and says he is transitioning to a better work/life balance after 40 years of full time employment.
A nation-wide recruitment process will commence shortly.
Read more about Mr Chemello’s announcement here.
A by-election at Longreach Regional Council has been set for Saturday 11th February.
A vacancy on the council has arisen due to the resignation in November of Tony Martin.
Mr Martin was previously CEO of the Qantas Founders Outback Museum in Longreach, a position he resigned last June with plans to pursue new opportunities.
The Electoral Commission of Queensland has confirmed the by-election will be conducted by postal ballot for the 2,485 residents enrolled.
Before I leave you, a quick reminder from the VLGA about the Women in Leadership: understanding their political trajectories research project. All Victorian councillors have been sent a survey from ARC Linkage Grant Update to help with the next stage – please check your inbox for that – you still have time to contribute.
Those are the latest news briefs from the Local Government News Roundup.
If you’re missing the international spotlight, head to the roundup website for a regular update on curated local government stories from municipalities in other parts of the world.
The spotlight will return as part of our regular format episodes which return in a couple of weeks time.
In the meantime, stay subscribed for our summer updates on your podcast player.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government
Until next time, thanks for listening.