While the association welcomed the opportunity to make a submission in respect of council’s draft Code of Meeting Practice a couple of weeks ago, it did so on the basis that the elected council has the power to consider, accept or reject its recommendations.
The association contends that the Code of Conduct is also intended to operate as a “fig leaf” to create the impression that residents & ratepayers have access to a genuinely effective mechanism to pursue redress against the improper behaviour of public officials when, in reality, it is designed to frustrate, deflect or dismiss complaints by residents & ratepayers.
At the same time, the association also believes that the Code of Conduct is an immense source of frustration & injury to elected councillors, particularly when it is “weaponised” for personal or political purposes.
To make bad matters worse, the association believes that it is abundantly clear that even the most senior public officials, including elected councillors, have absolutely no idea how to manage
Code of Conduct complaints, as evidenced by the
address to council's last ordinary meeting by former general manager David Jesson, when he suggested that council’s failure to effectively manage process left it open to “
humiliation & embarrassment”.
For its part, the association has experienced the abuse of the Code of Conduct & its related Procedures by public officials, including elected officials, as well as by so-called “Independent Reviewers”. Indeed, that abuse has extended to the most senior level of the OLG itself, exemplifying the corruption that permeates local government in NSW.
While the OLG lauds the merits of the new Code of Conduct by trumpeting the inclusion of “new provisions, new standards, new rules & new disclosure requirements”, the association maintains that absolutely nothing has been done to protect residents & ratepayers from abuse by public officials.
Elsewhere, the shiny new
Canberra Joint Region Organisation (CJRO) quietly called for
Expressions of Interest for its proposed “
Regional Panel of Conduct Reviewers”, to be used by member councils to investigate their
Code of Conduct complaints.
The association believes that the failure of the NSW Government, & more particularly the OLG, to ensure that best practice standards of governance are pursued & adhered to by all councils across NSW constitutes an act of contempt against residents & ratepayers.
On that basis, the association believes that it is well within its rights to treat the OLG’s new Code of Conduct & its associated Administrative Procedures with the same contempt.
John Richardson
Secretary/Treasurer
Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association
Tel: 0264945669
Email: secretary@begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au
Website: http://www.begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au