Accountability

Accountability, it seems, hurts.  Bruce Yarwood, the long-term mayor of Geelong, is yelping about it in an opinion piece in a recent Geelong Advertiser.  According to Bruce, elections are the main form of accountability, and it seems that all those social networking tools that allow constituents to spy on their Councillors are nothing more than opportunities “to record and express an opinion regardless of any examination of the facts”.  (Opinion pieces in local newspapers must be something else altogether).  Bruce is attempting to influence the direction of State government legislation on the subject and is miffed that “the Opposition didn't exactly do local government any favours here either”.

Meanwhile in Queensland new integrity laws came into effect on 1 January.  Lobbyists must be registered, and they can no longer receive success fees.  The Queensland Local Government Association (LGAQ) says councils will have to comply with the new integrity measures.  LGAQ spokesman Greg Hallam says local governments support the changes, but are awaiting detailed guidelines.  "There is certainly in the new Integrity Act some missing pieces as yet and there is yet to be a public sector ethics regulation that'll affect all councillor and employees and that could well go to the matter of how they deal with property developers," he said.