Time for council to open up

TOWNSVILLE City Council says it has taken steps to address a scathing report about transparency and poor record keeping.

This is about six months after the Office of the Information Commissioner handed down 24 recommendations, following an audit of the council’s compliance with Queensland’s Right To Information Act and the Information Privacy Act.

There was a clear deadline in the report, which the council has not met.

Yes, they say the changes are being rolled out but the report says they should be in place.

Transparency and being open to the public are key for local governments and there has never been more scrutiny on councils throughout Queensland than now.

People have a right to feel their council is transparent and has nothing to hide.

If the community have that there is more confidence in the council; something that, surely, the council would be happy about.

It’s not good enough to say “strong progress” has been made, it should be done, or at the very least close to done.

It’s pleasing to hear chief financial officer Matt Thomson say the council is “investing in creating a platform where information will be released through online dashboards”.

These sorts of things may not seem like much to the council or even some members of the public, but they are important and they’re there to keep the council accountable. It’s important they are established as soon as possible.

Mr Thomson says the council has sought to increase its community engagement and that seems to be the case.

They held a community council meeting last month, where the public was able to attend and ask questions. More than 20 people were there to talk to the council; it might not seem like much but these people, and that transparency, are vital for local governments.