The City of Casey’s mayor says any steps taken to improve transparency and integrity is a good thing.
His comments come in response to proposed State Government Lobbying Reform, which could see regulations extended to councillors.
The State Government is mulling introducing new legislation focused specifically on lobbying, after renewed public interest in the effect of lobbying on government decisions and processes over recent years.
Several reports from the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) recommended the improvement of regulations in lobbying in the State, after identifying specific instances in which inappropriate lobbying activities may have distorted decision-making processes.
Among them is the Operation Sandon special report that provides allegations of two former Casey councillors receiving payments and in-kind support to further a developer’s interest.
Lobbying at the local government level is currently not regulated in Victoria. The consultation paper considers if the scope of regulation should be extended to cover local government to align with other jurisdictions.
Councillors could face regulations that prohibit them from engaging in lobbying activities relating to any matter with which they had official dealings in a ‘cooling-off’ period after they cease to hold office.
They could also have the obligation to record and disclose details of meetings with lobbyists. But the paper also considers that imposing extensive recordkeeping requirements on councillors may be “too onerous”, given their part-time capacity, and a fine line should be established.
“Consideration should be given to whether a regulatory regime that imposes the same obligations on state and local government decision-makers would be appropriate and adapted given the limited time and resources available to councillors,” the paper states.
“A tiered approach, similar to the approach in other jurisdictions, with appropriate exceptions may better reflect the unique role of local government councillors.”
At the time of the writing, Casey Council has not formed an official position regarding the State Government’s Lobbying Reforms but welcomes the implementation of all recommendations from the IBAC Operation Sandon.
Mayor Cr Stefan Koomen said he welcomed the State Government’s engagement on lobbying regulation.
“Any steps taken to improve transparency and integrity at all levels of government is a good thing,” he said.
“Although council is yet to form a formal position on the reforms, I am committed as mayor to re-building the trust of our community and advocating for integrity in all that we do. I look forward to seeing how these reforms are implemented across the sector.”
Community organisation Casey Residents & Ratepayer Association has been vocal on the follow-up on the IBAC Operation Sandon’s finding.
Vice president Anthony Tassone said there should be obligations on Local Government representatives and executive leadership team members that aligned with those at a State government level to ensure transparency, integrity and the best use of taxpayer or ratepayer funds.
“This should include disclosure of lobbying activity by both councillors and lobbyists themselves including the provision of meeting diaries,” he said.
“Whilst Local government does not have the level of resourcing or capacity that State or Federal levels of government may have, there would need to be a good reason to provide any exemptions from their obligations.
“As the old saying goes, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.”
Mr Tassone said despite the explosive findings of the Operation Sandon report by IBAC, there had been no enforcement action taken against those individuals who had serious negative findings against them.
“It’s one thing to have reforms to increase obligations on councillors in reporting and disclosing lobbying efforts. It’s another to have actual consequences for behaviours that are a breach of their duties to residents and ratepayers and proper use of funds.”
The consultation on reforming Victoria’s lobbying regulation is open until 9 February. To participate, visit: engage.vic.gov.au/lobbying-reform
Casey Council will review the consultation papers and consider a submission on behalf of the City of Casey.
