MEAGHAN SCANLON

Local goverment reform will reinstate confidence

EVERY Queenslander should have confidence in the decisions of their local council. The Palaszczuk Government’s local government reforms, will ensure transparency and integrity in local government.

Queenslanders, including here on the Gold Coast, have seen the CCC’s Belcarra Inquiry, and the questions about donations, developers and integrity it raised.

We heard risks associated with councillors accepting donations from property developers, and then voting on development applications from those same donors.

To ensure that we can have faith in local planning decisions, we’ve reintroduced new laws to prohibit property developer donations at both a local and State Government level, because we will not introduce measures on another level of government that we don’t apply to ourselves.

The public should be able to know that the decision on develop- ment applications are in the interest of the Gold Coast, not the interest of property developers.

According to the CCC, “until such time as unions and other types of donors demonstrate the same risk of actual or perceived corruption in Queensland local government as property developers, a more encompassing ban is not appropriate”.

Our property industry will be better supported by the public when the public have faith in public decisions.

These measures also include a code of conduct for councillors which would bring them into line with MPs and government staffers and a councillor conduct tribunal to hear and determine alleged misconduct.

Unfortunately the Gold Coast LNP Members of Parliament spoke against the banning of developer donations.

And at the same time, Malcolm Turnbull and the LNP are now using taxpayer funds to avoid disclosing donations under Queensland’s electoral donation laws.

If successful, this would mean that 94 per cent of political donations would go undisclosed from the public.

It is outrageous that Malcolm Turnbull is willing to spend tax payers’ money to overturn Queensland’s electoral laws, at a time when they’re refusing to pay Queensland Health the funds it needs.

The public disclosure of donations is something I had hoped that all sides of politics should support. How could MPs be opposed to the public having a right to know where these donations are coming from?

We need these laws to ensure that the public can trust government decisions.

When donations are left in the dark, it leaves too many questions unanswered for the public.