Elections in Victoria in March saw the return of elected Councillors to 77 of this State’s 78 Councils. Melton Shire is the odd one out, retaining its Commissioners for two more years, following a non compulsory plebiscite conducted earlier this year.
Residents in the 54 Municipalities, electing their first Council on 15 March following Local Government restructure, have been without elected representation since December 1994.
However, recent statements made by Rob McLellan, Minister for Local Government, have cast doubts as to whether democracy has in fact returned to Victorian Local Government.
The Minister has warned Councillors they risk losing powers to their Chief Executive Officer if they ‘meddle’ in planning issues. He had also earlier announced that he will move to force Councils to notify the State Government if they intend to sack their CEO.
Both these moves have been criticised by Local Government bodies and some CEOs. Cr Mike Hill, Secretary of the Local Governance Association, said that this would undermine a Council’s ability to govern on behalf of residents and could isolate the CEO within their own community. He further warns that this could be the death knell of Local Government in this State, with Councils mere branch offices of Spring Street.
President of the Municipal Association of Victoria, Cr Noel Bates, has likened the Minister’s statements to merely firing a shot across the bow and doubts if anything will come of it.
“This would not be conducive to good management and would take away a Council’s right to manage and its autonomy,” Cr Bates said. He added, if the Government did move to legislate on these matters, the MAV would make all attempts to turn this around.
