WA local government minister hails beefed-up laws as biggest reform in sector for 25 years

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2 days ago

If keeping up to date with what your local council is doing isn't that high on your to-do list, you're probably not alone.
The often mundane cogs of local government turn without much scrutiny, because the vast majority function as they should.
But if the recent string of council dramas across Perth has taught us anything, it's that we need to look a lot closer.
The state government is watching, and is unapologetic about plans to beef up its powers to intervene.
But tinkering with other branches of democracy can put governments on dangerous ground.
Who can forget former Liberal premier Colin Barnett being forced to wave the white flag after attempting to slash the number of Perth councils in half back in 2015, not long before he left office for good.
It's a lesson Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley is likely to be keeping front of mind.
There's no hiding how ticked off Ms Beazley has been with Nedlands council.
What started off as a spot fire of dysfunction turned into raging flames of controversy.
"It's been incredibly frustrating," she told Stateline.
While she describes it as an outlier, there are clear recent examples of dysfunction gripping other councils.
As recently as April, a commissioner had to be brought in to run the Shire of Derby/West Kimberley after five council members resigned.
In Port Hedland, councillors have been walking out the door amid allegations of "extreme views" — including one councillor who made national headlines praising Russia's elections as the most "transparent" in the world and congratulating Vladimir Putin.
And who can forget the "soap opera" saga of the City of Perth?
That culminated in the sacking of the entire council back in 2018 amid backbiting and a Corruption and Crime Commission finding that former lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi "signally failed in her duties … by not disclosing gifts and contributions to travel" she received while in her role.
Ms Beazley said she would have preferred to act sooner on Nedlands, but the Local Government Act proscribes clear limits on the minister's power.
But she is hopeful law changes passed late last year, which she describes as the "biggest reform to the sector in 25 years", will ensure earlier intervention is possible.
Among many things, they will see the establishment of a new local government inspector to oversee WA's 137 local governments.
The inspector will have broad powers to investigate allegations of bad behaviour, reminiscent of those wielded by the state's corruption watchdog or those tasked with independently investigating the state's prison sector.
The new inspector will be able to demand someone appear and give evidence, produce documents and information, and enter local government property without a warrant.
But when it comes to broader reform, Ms Beazley is not planning on taking a leaf out of the Liberal playbook under Colin Barnett.
"I'm not going to go down the route of forcibly merging local governments, as what happened in the previous government," Ms Beazley said.
However, she said she would be open to "boundary adjustments" in the case of councils facing financial viability issues.
The premier is also on the record saying while he thinks there are too many local governments in WA, the "system that we have is what it is" and it's not his policy to try to slash that number.
Perhaps the best way to ensure the viability of this often unloved branch of democracy is for us to all pay more attention, and not just when local councils hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.