In opening the Annual Conference of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) held in Melbourne on 29 October, Deputy President Councillor Sam Alessi said that the conference theme – accountability, transparency and representation – are vital ingredients to ensure councils are meeting the highest standard of governance in these challenging and complex times.
The Victorian Ombudsman, George Brouwer, told delegates that generally public confidence in councils is high both in respect to the work of councils and the professionalism of staff.
He said the Office of the Ombudsman is responsible for investigating complaints made against public authorities in Victoria.
“Although around 25 per cent of the complaints we receive relate to Local Government, many of these are not that serious,” the Ombudsman said.
“You are the level of government closest to the public, so this in itself automatically results in a range of interactions and potential for complaints.
“Tasks expected of you are complex and your ability to recruit staff with the necessary level of expertise can also be an issue.”
He said that he has found no evidence that the sector is corrupt but from time to time things can go wrong for a particular council so it is vital to identify where things have gone wrong and why.
He said that a key area where problems can arise is where the role of Councillors and the role of staff is misunderstood or not clear.
The CEO and staff can have difficulties if Councillors feel they are the ‘boss’ or if staff become intimidated into acting against their professional or better judgement.
Contracting can also be a problem but the Ombudsman said this is no different for any other public body.
He said a third area is conflict of interests – largely because people don’t understand this or don’t want to.
“You need to exercise sensible judgement on this,” he said.
“Ask yourself to what extent is this a real issue and use this to make your judgement about what is a real conflict of interest.”
He said the Ombudsman has the power to summons any person to appear and give evidence under oath.
“People who don’t tell the truth risk the charge of perjury,” George Brouwer said.
“Under the Whistleblower legislation, I can also investigate the actions of elected members.
“We have the expertise to recover emails that have been deleted so can search computers to see exactly what has been going on.
“For officers being investigated, it may be a case of an error in judgement that may result in disciplinary action but not necessarily careers being wiped out.
“Telling the truth is key here.”
The Ombudsman urged delegates that if they have an issue they don’t understand or have any doubt in their mind then feel free to contact his office and seek advice.
