The Queensland Government has passed new legislation aimed at strengthening the powers of councils and reducing red tape, with Noosa Mayor Frank Wilkie saying the changes will simplify several key issues facing local representatives.
The Local Government (Empowering Councils) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill was passed in State Parliament last week, delivering reforms the Queensland Government says will empower councils, clarify governance rules and improve transparency.
Noosa Mayor Frank Wilkie said the changes will simplify several key issues facing local representatives.
Minister for Local Government and Water Ann Leahy said the changes were designed to help councils focus on serving their communities.
“Mayors and councillors have been telling us how outdated processes and confusing regulations are impacting their ability to serve their communities,” she said.
“These amendments are designed to strengthen the capacity of Queensland councils to meet the expectations of their communities while ensuring the highest levels of integrity and accountability.
“This legislation is all about having respect for ratepayers’ money.”
Among the key reforms are simplified conflict-of-interest rules, changes to councillor conduct processes, privacy protections for election candidates and measures reinforcing the mayor as the official spokesperson for councils.
Cr Wilkie told Noosa Today several elements of the legislation would streamline council operations.
“A councillor will automatically be removed from office when they nominate to run as a candidate for State Elections,” he said.
“This prevents disruption and cost carried by ratepayers when a councillor uses their paid position as a platform to campaign for higher office.”
He said the bill also addressed concerns about how conflict-of-interest rules had been used in council chambers.
“The Act also removes the duty on a councillor to report a belief or suspicion of another councillor’s conflict of interest, which was found to be open to political misuse.”
“Councillors will also no longer be able to use conflict of interest declarations to vote councillors out of the chamber for critical votes.”
“This was found to be open to political manipulation where councillors could be ejected based on their views, rather than the public interest.”
The legislation also changes how senior council executives are appointed, with the mayor and deputy mayor now joining the chief executive officer on panels selecting top staff.
Cr Wilkie said the reforms clarified the mayor’s role as the public voice of the council and would remove some bureaucratic hurdles.
However, he said some elements of the new framework were still being assessed locally.
“We are still considering how other changes, such as in-house reporting of councillor conduct breaches, will be handled,” he said.
The State Government said the reforms form part of its broader plan to modernise local government legislation and improve governance outcomes for ratepayers across Queensland. Minister Leahy said the changes were designed to help councils focus on serving their communities.
“Mayors and councillors have been telling us how outdated processes and confusing regulations are impacting their ability to serve their communities,” she said.
“These amendments are designed to strengthen the capacity of Queensland councils to meet the expectations of their communities while ensuring the highest levels of integrity and accountability.
“This legislation is all about having respect for ratepayers’ money.”
