BASLEYS BANTER WE seem to get a mixed message from Cr Leon Stephens when he alludes to the benefits of social media coverage. He is quoted as saying, “We need to up the ante so we can get our information out”, yet he is an advocate for having a closed-door meeting of Port Pirie Regional Council on the second Wednesday of each month. Does this mean the council will decide what to put out on social media behind closed doors? Strategic workshops are still not open to the public and the council claims to have “special circumstances” once a month. How do they predetermine circumstances 12 months ahead? As a public servant, administering legislation, I attended a conference where the main speaker was from the Crown Law Department and he spoke on how to understand the difference between “the letter of the law” and “the spirit of the law”. The intention of the legislator is the point to consider. The intent of the Local Government Act 1999 is quite clear, it says, “meetings to be held in public except in special circumstances”. It goes on to say that “informal gatherings” are not illegal “provided that a matter which would form part of the agenda for a formal meeting of council or council committee is not dealt with in such a way as to obtain, or effectively obtain, a decision on the matter outside a formally-constituted meeting”. How, then, does our council justify reaching consensus on fees and charges at its workshops – is not consensus a vote effectively obtained. Consensus is “an agreement made by a group”. As a former councillor with 13 years’ experience, a professional board member for 20 years, and a graduate and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, I can assure you that boards, voting on more matters of finance at a monthly meeting than our council’s annual budget, do it all by consensus. Cheers, Mike
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 03:49:51 +0000
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