Sending a message to Macquarie Street

According to the department of local government, when serious breakdowns occur in council operations, the Local Government Act of 1993 provides two significant intervention mechanisms - section 430 investigations and section 740 public inquiries.

Under section 430, the “director general” has the power to carry out investigations into council operations. Under section 740, the “minister” has the power to appoint a commissioner to conduct a public inquiry into a council.

At any time, and within what appear to be flexible guidelines, the minister can order a section 740 inquiry. When the inquiry process is complete the minister can sack the council and appoint an administrator.

The administrator effectively transforms into the elected representatives: the mayor and the councillors all rolled into one, rather than sending a council in question back to the polls.

She then makes decisions about the running of the council and puts forward the views of the electorate.

On face value, administrators appear to be more bureaucratic than the bureaucrats, although this image may disguise the real issues. Of vital importance to the process of democracy, is the fact that an administrator controls public council meetings and watches what the general manager and council officers are doing.

Maladministration and poor financial governance appear to be the leading reasons for igniting council inquiries. However, councils can be “selected” for review by the state government at any time within a very flexible framework.

In the case of Port Macquarie-Hastings, the seventh council sacked in five years, the evidence against it related to its handling of a cultural and entertainment centre in which its budgeted development went from $7 million to $41 million.

In the case of Shell Harbour, its sacking was based on its failure to take seriously its own code of conduct committee. All councils have such a committee to address complaints against councillors. The public inquiry heard the committee had not met for some time since 2007, leading to a big list of complaints.

A review involves a “team” evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of aspects of council operations. It includes assessing a council’s overall strategic direction, checking compliance, examining appropriate practices and ensuring the council can monitor its own performance.

Councils complete a self-assessment of their strategic management and operating practices, then the “review team” does what the department calls a “reality check” as part of its site review. An “at-risk” council has four weeks to respond to the self-assessment.

In the Tweed case the inquiry found council was improperly influenced by developers involved in a coastal property boom. The investigation, headed by commissioner Maurice Daly, was ignited after “community concern” emerged about the way planning decisions were made.