Every Shire Council meeting in the Western Plains region is bound by a Model Meeting Code.

Suggested reforms aim to increase 'dignity' in the chamber.

According to the Minns Labor Government, their proposed changes to the Model Meeting Code are about strengthening local government, ensuring greater transparency, and increasing community confidence in council decision making. 

One suggested reform is to ensure councillors make decisions in full view of the communities they are elected to represent.  

“Council meetings are where a council’s most important decisions should be made,” Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig said.

“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.

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

Council meetings are the place for important decisions, according to Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig.

Ewan Jones has been Mayor of Narromine Shire Council since last September's election and said the incoming council had received extensive training.

“We had training around the responsibilities that come with the position of councillor.

"As part of that, it was clear that meetings not held in the public domain are not something we involve ourselves in,” he said.

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

Changes have been suggested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in consultation with the State government.

They include

• preventing councils from holding private councillor briefing sessions 

• 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 information considered at closed meetings to be made public after it ceases to be confidential 

• requiring councillors to stand when the Mayor enters and when addressing the meeting

“Expelling councillors from meetings is not something I think we will ever need to do in Narromine,” Cr Jones said.

“At Narromine, we have a good, responsible group of people that don’t do anything silly.

"I also don’t expect anyone to stand up for me while I speak or when I enter the chamber. I have got to know several other mayors, and I don't think they would expect it either.

"Perhaps it happens in the city, but not here.”

As for requiring confidential topics to become public after they cease to be confidential, Cr Jones said that is problematic.

“Sometimes it’s hard to gauge where confidentiality ends,” he said.

“In small communities often people know what it is going on in a situation and who is involved, but keeping things confidential is important in some cases.”

Submissions on the new reforms will be accepted until Friday 28 February 2025.

To learn more and provide feedback, click here.