LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

A new approach to democracy in Local Government would surely be a breath of fresh air in Tasmania. 

The state’s Local Govt Act 1993 is way past its use-by-date and in any event there are way too many councils for an essentially static population of 517,000 people. The Act is too open to perverse interpretation and one doesn't have to look far to witness that in action.

Moreover, with 29 councils it stretches the available resources – human, fiscal and other. Demonstrably, its a stretch to find enough representatives with the appropriate skills and experience to do the job that’s asked of them. 

While it pays, sometimes a little, sometime quite a bit, to be a “representative” those who finish up with the job all too often give too little attention to it or lack the time to do so. Therefore, they rely heavily upon the advice of the council’s officers who after all are typically both unrepresentative and unaccountable. Its not unusual to see a blurring of functions of governance and management and when this happens it is the constituency that loses out.

Against this background it’s more than interesting to note what’s going on in other states. For example, in Moruya, and Eurobodalla Shire Council, the council is currently seeking 24 residents to form a "Citizen Jury“ to determine the council's community program for the short to medium term.

A newDemocracy research group will randomly select jurors to meet a legislative obligation to show that the council is engaging with the community. It’s interesting that such a ‘legislative obligation’ is invoked and embraced.  In Tasmania one can almost hear the “operational wings”of councils audibly shouting out their dismay.

Eurobodalla Shire has a population of around 35,000 people and it includes the town of Moruya in the central part of the Shire. Other major towns in the shire include Batemans Bay Narooma, Durras, Bodalla, Wallaga Lake and Koori Village.

By way of comparison in Tasmania, Launceston's population is approx. 67.000 , Burnie approx 19,000 and there are 211,656 people living in the greater Hobart area.

The ‘Citizen’s Assembly/Jury’ exercise that Eurobodalla Shire is embarked upon is expected to cost $100,000. Council’s staff and councillors will not know who is selected until the first jury meeting, which will be after the NSW's September local government elections. One can imagine why if you’re running an operation that’s copping flak for something dodgy (anything?) you might welcome a Citizens’ Jury as much as a forensic auditor or bad smell in a lift.

Eurobodalla Shire’s ‘citizen jurors’ will be paid for their time, which includes attending six meetings on weekdays and weekends over a two-and-a-half-month period. Meetings will be chaired by a member of the newDemocracy Foundation and any member of the public can write a submission or present to the jury.

The process will involve jury members exploring the work council does to consider questions like:

• Is Council spending ratepayers money appropriately? 
• Is Council allocating its resources to the right things?
• If not, what should we change?”
  

newDemocracy executive director Iain Walker has said, “by matching to the census profile, we get people from all age groups and all walks of life and a 50/50 mix of gender." 

The council’s general manager Dr Catherine Dale is reported as saying that the jury would decide what they believed should be priorities for council in the future. 

 Dr Dale has said that the cost was in line with what has been spent previously. “It is money well spent,” she said. 

This is a really innovative way to seek communities views. It is an open and transparent process. “It is important for the community to appreciate that the integrity to the project is paramount to having the right outcome,” Dr Dale said.

It is reported that Eurobodalla Shire Council is at a critical juncture in its long term planning. 

Having sought and received approval for a special rate variation in 2015 to ensure ongoing financial sustainability, and with the upcoming election of a new Council scheduled for September 2016, arguably, it is judicious for the organisation to take stock and consider whether it is meeting the needs and expectations of its community.

Now, if only Tasmanians could look forward to this kind of accountability. And, interestingly Eurobodalla Shire’s General Manager embraces the ‘accountability concept’ by placing her resume online and holding herself accountable – it seems functional accountability is a possibility and that its an idea that spreads . 

Typically true democracy is built upon the open and transparent sharing of information. With information comes new insights, better and often new understandings. When there is debate solutions can emerge. When there is no sharing, no rule of law, no accountability, there is ever likely to be the abuse of power, corruption, indignation and tardiness all round.

The American author, journalist and former political advisor Naomi Wolf said “In a fascist system, it's not the lies that count but the muddying. When citizens can't tell real news from fake, they give up their demands for accountability bit by bit”... and its beginning to happen in Tasmania.

Ray Norman June 2016