Chairman of the Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA), Temora Shire Mayor Rick Firman OAM has commended the New South Wales Local Government Minister the Hon. Ron Hoenig MP and the Office of Local Government for the recently released ‘Meeting Code of Practice’.

“In the main, it’s a good workable Code. The CMA Board are very grateful to Minister Hoenig for having direct input into this document, and for allowing extensive consultation. We certainly can’t bellyache about not being part of Minister Hoenig’s reform journey,” he said.

“The reaction from rural, remote and regional mayors throughout the State thus far has been generally positive, despite a few points of frustration. I’ve spoken to Minister Hoenig since the release of the Code of Meeting Practice. The CMA Board and Members acknowledge and appreciate how hard he and his team have worked on this. It has been a long road to this point.”

“Of course, the expectations of the NSW Government and country Mayors are not going align perfectly, across the board. Many CMA members were not happy that private briefing sessions have been banned. While acknowledging the Minister’s focus on transparency, it was a widespread view that Councillors are not experts in all areas and should be able to receive briefings, off the record and in-private where appropriate, so an informed decision-making process can occur.

“Other points of contention in the new code have included some not believing that rising when the Mayor enters the Chamber is necessary or that all Councillors should stand (if able) when addressing the Chamber. However, such formal protocols engender improved respect for all Council roles and more appropriate behaviour. A new minimum dress standard is in line with this. I applaud the Minister for pushing in that direction,” Mayor Firman said.

“It must be noted that in rural and remote Councils, there are rarely the issues of poor behaviour that has existed in some larger Councils. However, we note that the Minister can’t have separate legislation for rural, remote, regional and metropolitan Councils.”

“It is positive that there are still opportunities for Councils to include supplementary provisions in the Code, as long as they’re not contradicting the mandatory aspects of the Code. It’s also pleasing to see Mayors will be able to call an extra-ordinary meeting without having to seek signatures from two Councillors. Mandatory live-streaming of Council meetings is an interesting new requirement for Council meetings; it’s not new for some but for others, it represents some capital outlay and some Chamber tweaking,” he said.

Deputy CMA Chairman and Bega Valley Shire Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said the onus is now on Councils to make the Code of Meeting Practice work. “Like the Minister, we want to see greater respect for our Councillors and Mayors,” he said.  “It’s not perfect but it is a playbook for a higher standard in our Council Chambers and that is something our respective communities deserve.”