The
present local government system is a recipe for corruption. Councillors have a
lot of power, a high workload, low salary, and courtesy of proportional
representation, low accountability. These arrangements have created a perfect
storm in which residents ultimately lose out.
The
Local Government Electoral Review was generated following an unprecedented
number of complaints, 456, received following the 2012 local council elections.
The Review made several recommendations including capping campaign donations at
$1,000, postal voting for all municipalities, candidates nominating in person
and a review of local councillor allowances.
Candidates
nominating in person and having to show they have a minimum number of
supporters makes eminent sense.
Current
councillor allowances should be reviewed in the context of population growth,
resident expectations, councillor workloads and attracting better quality
candidates. Councillors in Victoria are paid between $7,730 and $27,514 a year.
Low pay, and high workload and pressure are not good variables if we want to
weed out corruption and attract high calibre candidates.
Councillor
workloads are becoming increasingly more difficult and challenging given
Melbourne’s rapid population growth. As of 2014, the City of Moreland has
163,217 residents and 11 Councillors representing 3 wards. With Council Multi
Wards now almost the size of some state electorates, containing 30,000 to
50,000 residents, the workload is too high for what is at best a part time job.
When
I was a Councillor, we had single member wards with around 8,000 to 10,000
residents per ward. The ward was small enough that as a Councillor you had time
to virtually get to know everyone in your neighbourhood, and to be more
proactive on emerging issues. Under this system residents could build a
personal relationship with their local councillor, and councillors were more
accountable and could not hide their decisions or work ethic. Under the multi
member ward system, we have a situation where some councillors work harder than
others, and councillors who do not put in the same effort, not turn up to
meetings, vote against the interest of their communities, and who show
disregard for the position they were elected to, are less accountable to their
communities.
We
would be a lot better off moving back to single member wards for councils. This
would improve Councillors ability to represent their communities, improve
residents access to their representatives, and reduce the risk of corruption,
inappropriate behaviour, and low accountability.
Local Government is the closest level of government to the people. The VEC, Local Government Electoral Review and the Ministers responsible, should be working to better connect residents with councillors, and encourage good quality council representatives.
I believe in local government but I also believe in far better controls on Councillors and on senior executives. When Rob Hulls was regrettably Victoria's AG he pushed through pathetically undemocratic changes that stopped elected Crs from working for MPs. Yet, they could work for bikie gangs quite legally. That aside, builders, real estate agents and developers (think of that corrupt Sydney Mayor who has since resigned) should be banned from Council office as too much of Council work is over planning & Blg applications. Rules of disclosure need to be far tougher. Reasons for interstate and over seas trips need to be harder than for MPs. And I could go on about Councillors or about senior executives who are paid too much and who enjoy frequent lunches on Council credit cards - I am a witness. Fraud occurs because the system is weak but it can be fixed. Most Crs I know are great community reps, but the bad ones tarnish the system. In some councils, 5 hours a week is all that Crs spend on the community and yet paid as much as those who put in 35 hours. IN some councils, communities only see their Crs at election time, never see them at a host of community events, citizenship ceremonies, RSL services... And yet the media sits quietly by, sometimes due to "influences". Kel is right about the need to keep our local government but I want things to be much tougher and yet also much more transparent.
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