Despite Ombudsman’s reports, IBAC investigations and Council Monitors all scathing in their condemnation of secret meetings, the new Local Government Bill 2019 still allows Councils to close meetings anytime they want.
However local Government Minister Adem Somyurek and his government MP colleagues still claim it heralds a new era of transparency because they obviously haven’t read the Bill.
Just as with Council meetings, if the Minister and the MPs are relying on interpretation from the people who wrote the Legislation (reports) in the first place, and not reading it thoroughly and questioning it - they’ll never realise they’ve been conned.
To make it easy for those MPs and advisors too lazy or dumb to read legislation and interpret how it will be applied I've drawn a simple flow chart of how the Legislation will allow Councils to close meetings to the public anytime they want.
My main concern though, is that if this simple issue has been mis-managed in the Legislation what other fraudulent clauses will be inflicted on residents?
Any MP seeking re-election in 2022 will vote to throw the Local Government Bill 2019 out of Parliament. No amount of amendments can make this Bill workable for the people who are forced to foot the bill for local and state government.
I will not vote for ^&%$!! legislation.
