The South Australian Local Government Association (LGA) has proposed changes to the code of conduct for elected members that would include the elevation of bullying and harassment behaviours to misconduct, as well as the introduction of tougher penalties for breaches of the code.
LGA President Lorraine Rosenberg said the Association’s proposal to the State Government was based on extensive consultation with member councils, as well as stakeholders including the Office of Local Government, Ombudsman and Independent Commission Against Corruption Commissioner.
“We acknowledge the code of conduct for elected members isn’t working as it should, and we’ve presented a proposal to the Government to improve and strengthen it,” Mayor Rosenberg said.
“Our proposal outlines new behavioural standards, and processes for managing complaints and investigations for alleged breaches of these standards.
“The behaviour of council members is – by and large exemplary – but we need to stand up as a sector and show our communities that we will not tolerate bullying or harassment of any kind.
“A stronger code of conduct including greater penalties for breaches is needed to ensure councils can efficiently and effectively resolve issues, and get on with the job of serving their communities.”
While the State Government has previously indicated its intention to repeal the code of conduct for elected members the LGA is urging them to listen to the wishes of the sector before making any changes.
“The strong feedback from our sector has been that we need to retain the current code until new processes are fully developed and ready to implement,” Mayor Rosenberg said.
