Councillors behaving badly

Misbehaving councillors could be jailed or fined thousands of dollars if found to have breached the Local Government Act. A new bill introduced in the Victorian Parliament last month could see errant councillors slapped with massive fines of up to $70,000, or up to five years in jail. The Offences and Other Matters Bill was introduced in Parliament on 11 September in a bid to tighten up the legislation to bring penalties in line with community expectations.

The amendments have been one of several reforms introduced in the wake of the Brimbank City Council scandal, which exposed a litany of inappropriate behaviours from councillors and high-profile MPs. Under the new regulations, councillors found to have misused their position for personal gain will face a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, or more than $70,000 in fines.

A person acting as a councillor when deemed incapable could be fined $14,000 or thrown into prison for a year, while those found to have published misleading or deceptive voting material could be imprisoned for six months. Although some Brimbank residents have welcomed the changes, critics believed more needed to be done to bring rogue councillors into line.