Neville backs council reform

THE state’s Acting Premier has backed a return to singlecouncillor wards for Geelong despite a damning report that slammed the system.

Bellarine MP Lisa Neville gave her support to the model yesterday amid concern that local residents were losing out on access to councillors.

It comes despite the independent Commission of Inquiry report in 2016 — which led to the sacking of Geelong council — finding the single-councillor ward system had proved detrimental to City Hall.

The City of Greater Geelong moved to a new multicouncillor model in 2017, with the existing 12 wards reduced to four.

Ms Neville, who is filling in as Premier for Daniel Andrews while he is on leave, said she had “always been a fan” of single-councillor wards.

She said the current system did not give councillors the same ability to focus on specific issues in their local area.

“The feedback I get from people in the community is that they feel they don’t have the same access as they used to,” Ms Neville said.

The shift to a multicouncillor ward system came after the inquiry report suggested it would strengthen council leadership.

“Single-councillor wards have had the effect of undermining good governance, compromising decision-making by trading off decisions for the common good in favour of ward interests and distorting resource allocation and rational priorities,” the report noted.

“This has led to councillor and senior management relationships that have been destructive of frank advice and ingrained second-guessing by council officers of future council decisions.”

While acknowledging the report’s findings, Ms Neville played down the effect the system had on Geelong council when it was sacked.

“I’m not sure that the single-member wards was what contributed to what occurred in the City of Greater Geelong,” she said.

“There was a range of bullying issues from councillors to staff and within the organisation.

“They were much broader issues that went to the culture of the organisation and they’re ones that we need to continue to monitor.”

The debate coincides with the State Government’s plans to introduce a new Local Government Act, comprising six reforms including the introduction of single-councillor wards as the default structure across Victorian councils.

Deakin University politics expert Geoff Robinson last week labelled the proposed reform as “odd”.

“It’s strange … it just seems odd to me. I’d like to know more about what the thinking behind it is,” he said.