{"id":52523,"date":"2013-12-05T16:03:07","date_gmt":"2013-12-05T06:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=52523"},"modified":"2013-12-05T17:46:12","modified_gmt":"2013-12-05T07:46:12","slug":"state-plans-council-election-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/12\/05\/state-plans-council-election-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"State Plans Council Election Reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"David<\/a>
Queensland Local Government Minister David Crisafulli<\/figcaption><\/figure>December 5, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

The State Government is calling for public input into possible changes to the way Council elections are run after concerns were raised following last year’s council polls.<\/p>\n

Local Government Minister David Crisafulli said a discussion paper on the Local Government Electoral Act had been released to get the ball rolling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe inherited a local government sector that had been worn down by years of Labor suspicion and red tape,\u201d Mr Crisafulli said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncils were treated as little more than a collection agency for the State, and we knew an important part of the job of getting Queensland back on track was empowering communities.”<\/p>\n

Mr Crisafulli said he visited each local government area in his first six months of office and listened to what councils wanted.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result of these meetings, we introduced more than 150 changes to the Local Government Act and the City of Brisbane Act,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis review of council elections is another piece of the jigsaw to make sure councils are positioned to best reflect the wishes of their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Crisafulli said consultation with councils and the Local Government Association of Queensland would be the hallmark of the latest review, with issues to be resolved including:<\/p>\n