February 1 - 28, 2025: Issue 639

 

Changes coming to council meetings: NSW Government's OLG Public Consultation- closes February 28 2025

The NSW Government stated on December 17 2024 it is continuing to progress reforms to strengthen local government, announcing changes to the way council meetings are conducted to ensure greater transparency and increase community confidence in council decision making.

All councils are required to adopt a code of meeting practice based on the Model Meeting Code issued by the Office of Local Government.

The government has now released a consultation draft of amendments to the Model Meeting Code for public comment.

The changes aim to simplify the Model Meeting Code and ensure councillors are making decisions in the full view of the communities they are elected to represent.

They also aim to increase the dignity of the council chamber and remove the general manager’s involvement in council politics.

Key changes, some of which have been recommended by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) include:

  • preventing councils from holding private councillor briefing sessions
  • requiring information considered at closed meetings to be made public after it ceases to be confidential
  • requiring councils to give reasons when making decisions on planning matters that depart from staff recommendations
  • de-politicising the role of the general manager by removing the requirement for them to prepare reports on councillors’ notices of motion
  • expanding the powers of the mayor to expel councillors from meetings for acts of disorder 
  • requiring councillors to stand when the mayor enters and when addressing the meeting

Changes to the Model Meeting Code were flagged in a discussion paper outlining the government’s proposed reforms to the councillor code of conduct system.

Submissions will be accepted until Friday, 28 February 2025. 

To learn more and provide feedback, go to: www.olg.nsw.gov.au/councils/governance/model-code-of-meeting-practice/reforms-to-the-model-code-of-meeting-practice

Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig said in December 2024:

“Council meetings are where a council’s most important decisions should be made.

“It concerns me that these decisions are increasingly being made behind closed doors in private briefings, locking out the community and protecting councils from public scrutiny.

“As a former mayor, I want to see all councils conducting their business in an open and public forum, where communities can engage with their council on issues that directly affect them.

“The current Model Meeting Code has become unwieldly and is prone to drawing the general manager into political disputes which should be left to elected councillors to resolve.

“These changes are part of the government’s commitment to restore public trust in local government which has been eroded by years of neglect and a cultural shift towards secrecy over public service.”

From that linked to webpage

Consultation on reforms to council meeting practices

The Office of Local Government is inviting feedback from the local government sector and others on proposed amendments to the Model Code of Meeting Practice for Local Councils in NSW (Model Meeting Code).

The amendments are part of the Government’s agenda to ensure that councillors are visibly in control of their councils, demonstrating to the community that decision making is genuinely local.

The reform of the code and procedures governing how councillors gather, debate and make decisions was flagged by the Minister for Local Government as part of the discussion paper issued in September, “Councillor conduct and meeting practice: a new framework”.

The feedback the Office of Local Government receives will be used to inform the amendments that are ultimately made to the Model Meeting Code.

It is anticipated that the new Model Meeting Code will be prescribed in early 2025.

The proposed amendments to the Model Meeting Code are the first tranche of reforms to the regulation of meetings. The second tranche will be legislated in 2025 as part of the measures implemented to reform the regulation of councillor conduct and will have a particular focus on behaviour at meetings.

Have your say!

The Office of Local Government has issued a consultation draft of the amended Model Meeting Code and accompanying paper to seek the views of the local government sector, key stakeholders and the community on the proposed amendments.

The proposed amendments to the Model Meeting Code are indicated in track changes in the consultation draft.

Submissions will be accepted until COB Friday 28 February 2025.

What are you being asked to do?

The paper outlines the key focus areas of the review. We are seeking your input on these matters through the questions asked in the paper and available in the online form.

We are also seeking your comments on the proposed amendments to the Model Meeting Code.

Feedback can be provided in 3 ways.

Using the online submission form below (HERE)

OR

By email – olg@olg.nsw.gov.au

OR

Post: Address – Office of Local Government, Locked Bag 3015, NOWRA NSW 2541

Submissions must be clearly labelled “Model Meeting Code amendments” and marked to the attention of the Office of Local Government’s Council Governance Team.

Information on privacy and confidentiality

When you give us your feedback, the Office of Local Government will be collecting some personal information about you, in particular:

  • your name
  • your email address
  • the name of your organisation (if provided).

All feedback received through this consultation process may be made publicly available. Please do not include any personal information in your feedback that you do not want published. 

As part of the consultation process, we may need to share your information with people outside the Office of Local Government, including other public authorities and government agencies. We may also use your email contact details to send you notifications about further feedback opportunities or the outcome of the consultation. You should also be aware there may be circumstances when OLG is required by law to release information (for example, in accordance with the requirements of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009. There is also a privacy policy located on the Office of Local Government’s website that explains how some data is automatically collected (such as your internet protocol (IP) address) whenever you visit the Office of Local Government’s website.  The link to that policy is https://www.olg.nsw.gov.au/about-us/privacy-policy/.

NB: you can choose to have your details kept confidential.