Council vote sparks new secrecy row

Attack aimed at media policy

A CHANGE to Cairns Regional Council’s public meetings structure has resulted in a fiery debate among councillors.

Cr Richie Bates says it will result in less transparency.

The council, at its ordinary meeting yesterday, voted to scrap monthly committee meetings and instead hold two ordinary meetings per month from next month.

However, Cr Bates (Division 5) rallied against the proposal, saying the present committee structure had served the council well, providing a safety net and an extra level of transparency and accountability in its decisionmaking.

“It is ironic that the one forum that should be in question here today will suffer no scrutiny or assessment and will likely continue behind the closed doors of a council office somewhere,” he said.

“The meeting known as the preparation workshop goes on prior to every council meeting of the year and is where agenda items often get debated at length, hidden from public view. Paradoxically, this decision to remove the committee structure would have likely had more behind closed doors discussion that what we will seen on the floor of the chamber today.”

He said that the Queensland Ombudsman last year described the preparation workshop meetings as a practice that “places council at significant risk of failing to comply with the local government principle of transparent and effective processes”.

Cr Brett Moller (Division 1) hit back at Cr Bates, refuting the claim the preparation workshops were used as secret committee meetings.

“This chamber is the place where decisions are made,” he said. “There’s no ‘behind closed doors’.

“If Cr Bates wants to refer to the Ombudsman’s report, let’s also find the Ombudsman’s decision that there was no negligence, no wilful act or omission on the part of this council, or no reflection on the behaviour of this council. I find it offensive that – again – we have this pull down council attitude.”