{"id":184528,"date":"2017-07-19T20:05:19","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T10:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=184528"},"modified":"2020-07-12T14:39:02","modified_gmt":"2020-07-12T04:39:02","slug":"independent-umpire-to-assess-council-complaints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/07\/19\/independent-umpire-to-assess-council-complaints\/","title":{"rendered":"Independent Umpire To
Assess Council Complaints"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Local Government Minister
Mark Furner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July 19, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

The State Government will introduce an Independent Assessor to consider all complaints against councillors, in a further move to reform Local Government.<\/p>\n

The measure is one of 50 recommendations to be adopted, supported in-part or supported in principle from the Councillor Complaints Review conducted by an independent three-person panel earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Local Government Minister Mark Furner \u2013 who tabled the report and Government response at a Budget Estimates Hearing on Wednesday night \u2013 said the proposed changes were aimed at ensuring public confidence in the councillor complaints system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Palaszczuk Government proposes to give the Independent Assessor significant powers to assess and prosecute complaints,\u201d Mr Furner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cImportantly under the model identified, the Independent Assessor will also be able to dismiss or prosecute frivolous, vexatious or out-of-time complaints. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt would also be an offence for an accused councillor to attempt or take a reprisal against an employee or another councillor who makes a complaint of misconduct.”<\/p>\n

Mr Furner said a new, mandatory Uniform Code of Conduct that sets out acceptable standards of behaviour for elected councillors was also proposed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want councillors who bring down the standard of those hard-working elected representatives around the State to be held accountable for their actions,\u201d Mr Furner said.<\/p>\n

“The proposed changes are part of a suite of measures that are addressing integrity and accountability issues in local government in Queensland.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs elected representatives, councillors and mayors should be held to the highest possible standards of ethical and legal behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Independent Assessor would receive all complaints, then categorise, investigate and, if necessary, prosecute complaints.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Tribunal would deal with misconduct matters, while allegations of inappropriate conduct would be dealt with by councils.<\/p>\n

Corrupt conduct would still be referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current system is overly confusing. It is difficult to navigate,\u201d Mr Furner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the Independent Assessor make the preliminary assessment in all circumstances – other than corrupt conduct matters which must be referred to the CCC – will simplify the process and reduce duplication and red tape.\u201d<\/p>\n

The State Government will consult with Councils and peak bodies such as the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) on the proposed new laws over coming months.<\/p>\n

The Councillor Complaints panel which conducted the review consisted of former Integrity Commissioner Dr David Solomon, former Logan City Council CEO Gary Kellar, and former Noosa Shire Council mayor Noel Playford.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The State Government will introduce an Independent Assessor to consider all complaints against councillors, in a further move to reform local government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":170026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22,3],"tags":[1131],"yoast_head":"\nIndependent Umpire To Assess Council Complaints<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The State Government will introduce an Independent Assessor to consider all complaints against councillors, in a further move to reform local government.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/07\/19\/independent-umpire-to-assess-council-complaints\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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