Reforms welcome to a point
THE first tranche of Belcarra reforms were heralded by the State Government as a “new era of accountability and transparency” in local government, something that was much-needed after the corruption debacles in Ipswich and Logan.
The laws have forced councils to be more upfront about conflicts of interest they may have, material or perceived, and have made the process of lodging complaints against councillors more independent and transparent.
Banning political donations from property developers will also undoubtedly give ratepayers more confidence that councillors aren’t being unduly influenced in planning the future of their towns and cities.
Townsville City councillors vented their frustrations this week after being forced to refrain from debating and deciding on a development application because a Team Jenny Hill donor, who otherwise had no links to the proposal, had said some nice things about it.
Councillors would argue roadblocks like those choke their ability to act as elected officials, and their anger in this instance is understandable.
Make no bones about it, however, that Townsville City Council more broadly, as this newspaper has previously stated, has a way to go when it comes to transparency and making sure ratepayers can keep it accountable. It is also fair to say that in this new environment of strict legislation that councillors are going in blind and have to be careful to not become the first test case.
And it is not about to become easier for councillors, with the second tranche of Belcarra reforms before state parliament.
Belcarra the sequel proposes real-time donation disclosure and will impose stricter rules on candidates running under a group ticket. There is also a proposal to change the way ratepayers vote in council elections to align it closer to state and federal election voting methods.
Things will get a whole lot harder for the council as they come into an election year. And while ratepayers will and should always welcome increased transparency and accountability, it would be remiss to ignore the potential that laws, no matter how good the intention, can go too far.