New Local Government Act To Improve Our Councils
07 June 2018
Victorian Government:
The Andrews Labor Government will
modernise
Victoria’s local councils with new laws to lift standards of
governance and make councillors more accountable to the ratepayers they
represent.
Minister for Local Government Marlene Kairouz today introduced the
Local
Government Bill 2018 into Parliament, following three years of
consultation with the community.
The bill repeals and replaces the Local Government Act 1989 and will
usher in landmark
reforms, including:
-
Giving the Minister for Local Government the power to suspend individual councillors who pose a significant threat to the governance of a council for up to a year
-
Clearly defining sexual harassment under the Councillor Code of Conduct and introducing the power to remove councillors for serious sexual harassment
-
Allowing mayors serving two-year terms to be ousted from their roles, following a motion moved by at least three-quarters of all councillors in office
-
New measures to ensure service charges levied by Councils do not exceed the cost of those services.
In an Australian-first, the new
Act will require councils to develop four-year budgets and meet higher
standards in strategic planning and financial management.
Mayors will be required to report annually to their communities on
council’s progress in delivering these plans.
These changes will modernise the Act and provide greater flexibility in
dealing with councillors who are doing the wrong thing.
It will also make councillors more accountable to ratepayers and their
local communities.
The new Act is a key achievement of the Labor Government, which has also
delivered rate-capping and the Know Your Council website.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Local Government Marlene
Kairouz
“We are bringing this Act into the 21st century – helping make councils
more accountable and focused on the needs of their communities.”
“Mayors and councillors who behave badly will be gone for a year – the
days of them acting with impunity are over.”
“We want councils focused on the long-term and these changes will help
them do exactly that.”
--ENDS--
Source: Victorian Government - www.premier.vic.gov.au
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