2018-12-11 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                            11 DECEMBER 2018


The purpose of the Local Government Electoral (Implementing Stage 1 of Belcarra) and Other
Legislative Amendment Act 2018 is to enhance the integrity of the system of local government by:
   Implementing the Queensland Government’s response to 5 of 31 recommendations of the
     Crime and Corruption Commission Report ‘Operation Belcarra: A blueprint for integrity and
     addressing corruption risk in local government’;
   Providing for automatic suspension of Councillors charged with a disqualifying offence; and
   Providing additional powers for State intervention if it is in the public interest.

The purpose of the Local Government (Councillor Complaints) and Other Legislative Amendment
Act 2018 is to implement the Queensland Government’s response to the Independent Councillor
Complaints Review Panel’s Report ‘Councillor Complaints Review: A fair, effective and efficient
framework’ to provide a simpler, more streamlined system for making, investigating and
determining complaints about Councillor Conduct in Queensland.

The Independent Councillor Complaints Review was initiated in response to concerns raised about
the effectiveness of the current framework, including the role of Local Government Chief Executive
Officers in assessing complaints, the inability to seek review of decisions and the need to ensure
better natural justice for all parties.

A summary of the salient points of the legislative changes is provided in Attachment 1.

2.   Adoption of Model Meeting Procedures to facilitate new requirements

There are number of mandatory procedural changes that relate to local government meetings as
a result of the legislative amendments outlined in this report.

To facilitate these procedural changes, the Department of Local Government, Racing and
Multicultural Affairs has developed example Model Meeting Procedures for Councils. These
procedures focus on processes associated with unsuitable meeting conduct by a Councillor, the
process for dealing with suspected inappropriate conduct referred to the Council and processes
associated with material personal interests, conflicts of interest and closing Council meetings.

The Model Meeting Procedures for adoption are provided at Attachment 2.

3.   Noosa Council Standing Orders 2014 and upcoming review

Council’s Chief Executive Officer has advised that a comprehensive review of Noosa Council’s
Standing Orders 2014 will be undertaken in collaboration with Councillors in early 2019. This
review will include an assessment of the example Standing Orders for local government recently
developed by the Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs.

In the interim, to avoid any potential inconsistencies between the new Model Meeting Procedures
proposed for adoption and the current Noosa Shire Council Standing Orders 2014, section 31 -
‘Acts of disorder by members of the local government or a committee’ has been removed. The
relevant changes are shown in revision mode in Attachment 3.

4.   Code of Conduct

Pursuant to section 150D of the Local Government Act 2009, the Minister for Local Government
must make a Code of Conduct stating the standards of behaviour for Councillors in the
performance of their responsibilities as Councillors. A copy of the new Code of Conduct is provided
at Attachment 4.




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