BENDIGO councillors want to see the onus put on the state government to sack wayward councillors.
In a submission to the review of the Local Government Act, the City of Greater Bendigo has implored the state government to give the minister for local government the power to dismiss individual councillors who have breached the Councillor Code of Conduct.
The submission also called for local government to retain the power to set their own rates, as from July next year rates will be capped at the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Victorian councils.
Councillors who have been found to breach the Code of Conduct can be put on a leave of absence for two months, with the minister for local government only able to sack an entire council and not individual councillors.
City of Greater Bendigo councillors have come under the spotlight during the past year due to a number of Code of Conduct review panels addressing breaches of the code.
Council voted in favour of the submission at Wednesday night’s meeting, however the recommendations were met with mixed feelings.
Councillor Helen Leach, who voted against the submission, said giving the state government the power to sack councillors whilst seeking more autonomy for local government would lead to a
“witch hunt.”
Councillor Peter Cox, who oversaw a number of conduct panels during his tenure as mayor, believed that the power to sack an individual councillor should be given to local government.
“I don’t personally believe it should be up to the minister to dismiss a councillor,” Cr Cox said.
“In the sense that we have a proper conduct panel with real teeth… everybody gets their say through such a process, and it should have the authority to dismiss a councillor for the rest of the term.”
There were also calls for conduct panel procedures and decisions to be made more transparent.
Councillor Rod Campbell supported the submission’s calls for more clarity.
“I think we should simplify, and make clearer, panel procedures,” he said.
“Decisions for offences of the conduct panel, should be more transparent and simpler.”
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