House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1) 52 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Local Government Accountability LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY Mr BIGNELL House of Assembly Mawson LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (14:17): My question is to the Deputy Premier. Can the Attorney-General inform the house— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Mr BIGNELL House of Assembly Mr BIGNELL: —about the government's plans to increase the accountability of local government? The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly Enfield Deputy Premier Attorney-General Minister for Planning Minister for Business Services and Consumers The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:17): I thank the honourable member for his question. The state government's new anti-corruption measures will also provide higher levels of accountability for local government. The establishment of an independent commission against corruption will be— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly The Hon. J.R. RAU: —complemented— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier. The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly The Hon. J.R. RAU: The establishment of an independent commission against corruption will be complemented by a package of clear and transparent measures to address the performance of local government. I acknowledge in saying this that the vast majority of council members and staff are hard working, community-minded people. However, these new measures will provide South Australians with greater confidence in the performance and probity of their local councils. The local government accountability package will include, very importantly a uniform code of conduct for council members and employees across the state, amendments to the Local Government Act to give the Ombudsman the power to investigate non-criminal matters such as maladministration and/or misconduct, and new powers for the Auditor-General to audit the accounts of any council without notice. It will be mandatory for the Ombudsman and the Auditor-General to report any evidence of corruption to the independent commissioner overseeing the ICAC. In addition, the ICAC commissioner will have the power to oversee investigations by the Ombudsman and be authorised to refer matters to appropriate prosecutorial agencies. The current code of conduct for local government is disjointed, and it is difficult to impose sanctions on individual council members or staff. To remedy this, a uniform code— Mr Pisoni interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Unley! The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly The Hon. J.R. RAU: As I was saying, to remedy this a uniform code of conduct for council members and employees will be prescribed in regulations. For breaches of the code, the Ombudsman will be given the power to impose a range of sanctions on council members. Failure to comply with the sanction will result in an expiable offence of $1,000. The government will consult with local government on the development of the code. We will also take into account recommendations the Ombudsman made in his report into the Charles Sturt council. These measures will also provide clearer processes for members of the public to make complaints. Community members will have the option to report— The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Deputy Premier, can I just ask the camera person up there who is filming on the other side of the chamber to remember the ruling that you are only to film people on their feet. Thank you. Sorry, Deputy Premier. The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly The Hon. J.R. RAU: That's fine, Madam Speaker. As I was saying, community members will have the option to report their complaint to the chief executive officer of the council in question, to the Ombudsman or to the office of public integrity. These measures will be part of a package of legislative changes which will be introduced into the state parliament as soon as possible. It would be nice if these, unlike all the other measures that we have introduced into the parliament, were actually passed. The changes will be an important complement to the legislation that will set up the ICAC and the office of public integrity and are another sign of this government's commitment to accountability and probity of government at all levels. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order!