More than 600 Ipswich residents have given feedback during Ipswich City Council’s consultation period on divisional boundaries for the March 2020 local government elections.
Interim Administrator Greg Chemello, briefing council on Tuesday, said he was delighted with the number of respondents since launching the discussion paper on 1 March.
The paper offers three options on divisional boundaries for consideration. Each model presents a minimum of eight councillors and a maximum of 12 councillors being elected:
- Undivided
- Divided – 1 councillor per division (8-12 divisions)
- Divided – 2 or 3 councillors per division (4-6 divisions)
“Almost three weeks into the consultant period, all three models continue to receive strong support,” Mr Chemello said.
Residents have the rest of March to have their say: do you want your councillors to be elected on a divisional basis or across the entirety of the Ipswich region?
There is also a public information forum on Monday, 25 March, where Mr Chemello will be joined by new Ipswich CEO David Farmer, Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio, Lockyer Valley Mayor Tanya Milligan and Shoalhaven (NSW) Mayor Amanda Findley as they speak about their experiences with each of the models.
“The session will feature four guest speakers from relevant local government areas who will discuss the three models and will be available to answer your questions,” he said.
“They will talk openly about the advantages and disadvantages of each model. I am sure residents will appreciate hearing firsthand how the models work as they consider what might work best for Ipswich going forward.”
The feedback from residents had focussed on some key issues and frequently asked questions about the divisional boundaries debate, including:
- Does Ipswich City Council make the final decision? No, council does not make the final decision. Council will provide a summary of the community’s feedback to the Change Commission, which will review the boundaries and advise the Local Government Minister. Ultimately, it is the State Government’s decision.
- Has the Local Government Minister made up his mind as to his preferred model? No. Council understands that the State Government has not decided on a model – the results of the survey will guide the final submission from council to the state and the eventual outcome.
- Does Ipswich have to have a mayor and councillors? Yes. Ipswich will definitely go to an election in March 2020 for new councillors and a mayor – there is a legal requirement under the Local Government Act for elected representation.
- Does this review consider external divisional boundaries? No. This survey is about how you will be represented within the local government area of Ipswich – internal divisional boundaries, not external boundaries.
- What is the role of a councillor? As per page six of the Divisional Boundary Review Background Paper; “The primary role of councillors is to focus on policy development and ensure the strategic delivery of services in the public interest. Councillors are responsible for planning for the future and developing corporate plans and strategies to achieve their goals and deliver outcomes to the whole of the community, and monitoring the performance of the council against these. Councillors are not responsible for overseeing the internal day-to-day work done by local government employees. This is managed by the chief executive officer and senior staff.”
- Do councillors have to work full-time hours, and does council decide how much they are paid? Councillors do not have set hours under the Act and need to work for the hours necessary to fulfil their role. The maximum pay rates are set by the Local Government Remuneration and Discipline Tribunal , not council.
- Will there be increased governance for incoming councillors? Yes. Mr Chemello, the Interim Management Committee and senior council staff are currently working on 18 business transformation projects which will set council up for the future, covering everything from risk management and procurement through to dealing with fraud and corruption and preparing council for the return of elected representatives.
Mr Chemello is pleased with the quality of the ongoing feedback.
“We are incredibly grateful to the community for their views and comments – so many residents have taken the time to share their thoughts, not just fill in the survey. We encourage all local residents to have a say before the end of March and help to shape your council,” he said.
Some of the most recent comments from the community noted in the anonymous survey included:
“Need a person to represent us or otherwise interests of only a few suburbs will be prioritised. Need a person to take responsibility for local suburb issues.”
“An undivided model would make it near impossible for individuals to run. The sheer size of the council area and the number of booths would mean it is better and more efficient to run as teams. If you have one of the divided models then it is easier for independents. Having said that, I think the fewer divisions might means the multiple councillors per division are keeping each other accountable and hopefully make it difficult for “fiefdoms”, as happened previously.”
“There should be fewer councillors, eight plus the mayor, but they should remain full-time. If there are to be multi-member divisions, proportional representation should be used as the system of voting.”
“I would prefer the council of 2020 to consist of one mayor and 10 councillors as the 2016 was composed. In other words, council to continue as before. Thank you for allowing me to express my views.”
“We need to make sure that our incoming councillors are held accountable for their actions, I really hope that by having shared responsibility areas that even if someone starts to stray other councillors will be able to remind them of their obligations and pull them back into line.”
Also read:
>> Guest speakers confirmed for forum
