The State Parliament of Victoria has passed the first reading of the Local Government Amendment (Governance and Conduct) Bill 2014.
The bill, introduced by new Local Government Minister Tim Bull, is designed to enforce higher performance and conduct standards for local government representatives.
“Victorians should know that they can trust their elected council representatives and feel confident there are effective measures in place to deal appropriately and quickly with any instance of poor conduct and performance,” said Mr Bull.
“This new legislation is designed to protect the reputation of the overwhelming majority of councillors who are honourable hardworking people doing their utmost for their communities.
“These reforms will provide a clear direction for all councillors and councils to fulfil their civic duties responsibly.”
Proposed reforms include prohibition of councillor discretionary funds, increased mayoral powers to remove misbehaving councillors from meetings, independent panels to deal with misconduct, mandatory inductions to clarify roles and standards of conduct, more transparency of CEO employment contracts with independent expert oversight, increased powers for the Local Government Inspectorate and the power for the Local Government Minister to stand down individual councillors in extreme cases.
Mr Bull said the legislation is part of the most significant reforms to local government in 20 years and will play a key role in ensuring ongoing community trust and confidence in local government into the future.
