Responsible and respectful behaviour

The Issue

Over the past years, there have been too many cases of disrespectful Councillor behaviour and lack of proper compliance with legislation and Council standing orders.  Appropriate conduct is critical to good governance and objective decision-making.

My Policy

An effort will be made to change the Council culture by insisting on respectful behaviour by Councillors, ceasing their weaponisation of complaints to the State agency, and proper adherence to the legislation and Standing Orders.

Background

The Councillor Code of Conduct prescribes that Councillors must adhere to the Local Government Act in their responsibilities, the manner in which they carry out their duties, disclose conflicts of interest, and interact.

During the last two Council terms since 2016, the formal State councillor complaints bodies – the Office of the Independent Assessor and Councillor Complaints Tribunal - found some of the long-serving Councillors to have engaged in inappropriate conduct or, more seriously, misconduct. The most frequent causes were failure to declare conflicts of interest and engaging in disrespectful behaviour towards other Councillors or council staff.

There is also evidence of abuse of Council Standing Orders (the meeting protocols) for political advantage, and at times this has been overlooked by Councillors acting as chairpersons.

The Noosa Councillor breaches, reprimands and penalties from 2016-2024 can be found using the following links:

• Council of 2020-2024   https://www.noosa.qld.gov.au/downloads/file/4487/councillor-code-of-conduct-register

• Council of 2016-2020   https://opennoosa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Councillor-Complaints-Register-2017-18.pdf

My Action

I will encourage regular education and coaching for Councillors regarding the Local Government Act, the Councillor Code of Conduct, Council Standing Orders, and conflicts of interest.

In my leadership role as Mayor and as Chair of meetings, I will insist on respectful behaviour by all Councillors in their interactions with other Councillors, Council staff and members of the community.

Fearless advice by Council staff will be welcomed and respected even when Councillors disagree with it.