Hunter councils have been put on alert as the NSW Government looks to progress reforms to strengthen local government interaction.

In the wake of several controversies, some involving City of Newcastle (CN) in regards to openness, plans are afoot to change the way meetings are conducted to ensure greater transparency and increase community confidence in the decision-making process.

All councils must adopt a policy of meeting practice based on the Model Meeting Code issued by the Office of Local Government.

But, a consultation draft of amendments to that protocol is now being released to raise the standards again.

“Council meetings are where a council’s most important decisions should be made,” Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig said.

“It concerns me that these decisions are increasingly being made behind closed doors in private briefings, locking out the community and protecting councils from public scrutiny.

“As a former mayor, I want to see all councils conducting their business in an open and public forum, where communities can engage with their council on issues that directly affect them.

“The current Model Meeting Code has become unwieldly and is prone to drawing the general manager into political disputes, which should be left to elected councillors to resolve.

“These changes are part of the government’s commitment to restore public trust in local government, which has been eroded by years of neglect and a cultural shift towards secrecy over public service.”

The modifications also aim to raise the dignity of the council chamber and remove the general manager’s involvement in council politics.

Key changes, some of which have been recommended by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), include:

• Preventing councils from holding private councillor briefing sessions
• Requiring information considered at closed meetings to be made public after it ceases to be confidential
• Requiring councils to give reasons when making decisions on planning matters that depart from staff recommendations
• De-politicising the role of the general manager by removing the requirement for them to prepare reports on councillors’ notices of motion
• Expanding the powers of the mayor to expel councillors from meetings for acts of disorder requiring councillors to stand when the mayor enters and when addressing the meeting

Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery welcomed the move.

“I’ve been very up front and open about my serious concerns about the way City of Newcastle has and continues to operate,” she said.

“There is a worrying ongoing culture issue [there] of secrecy and lack of transparency that needs changing urgently.”

Changes to the Model Meeting Code were flagged in a discussion paper outlining the government’s proposed reforms to the councillor code of conduct system.

Submissions will be accepted until Friday 28 February.

To learn more and provide feedback, go to https://www.olg.nsw.gov.au/councils/governance/model-code-of-meeting-practice/reforms-to-the-model-code-of-meeting-practice/

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