Zoe Moffatt
Hume mayor Joseph Haweil has voted to end council’s Local Government Professionals Inc (LGPro) membership, following the organisation’s call for tougher penalties on councillors.
On August 28, councillor Trevor Dance moved a successful motion to cease Hume’s LGPro membership, and to detail expenditure since 2016 on training through LGPro, including programs and sessions.
Speaking at the meeting, Cr Haweil said his issue was not with the training, but he wanted to send a message to LGPro that councillors are not children.
“I was so disturbed five months ago to pick up The Age and to read an article [on] March 1, 2023, under the headline… ‘Councillors behaving badly: Calls for tougher penalties,’” he said.
“Under this arrangement the [chief executive] of LGPro and its board called out ‘appalling behaviour by councillors’.
“It attributed staff turnover and [chief executive] turnover to councillors’ appalling behaviour… It referred to the need for ‘more sticks to clamp down on misconduct by elected councillors’.
“Having significant media attention attached to something where the language being used… incredibly maternalistic and insulting. For that reason I have been very cranky with LGPro ever since.”
The article referenced LGPro’s letter to Local Government Minister Melissa Horne about addressing culture and conduct issues in Victoria’s councils.
Under legislation proposed by LGPro, arbiters would be able to issue monetary fines and disciplinary panels could suspend councillors for up to three years for bad behaviour.
Cr Haweil said he was ‘disturbed’ by the language used and he thinks LGPro’s job is not to be a political commentator from the side lines.
“I was really disturbed by this type of paternalistic language being used… against people who are in elected positions,” he said.
“I think [the] organisation [stepped] beyond the boundaries to… a place that it really should not have been advocating for. I do want to send a message to LGPro… that councillors are not children.”
An LGPro spokesperson said the organisation had apologised and written to the mayor to clarify LGPro’s position and to offer him the opportunity to discuss the issues and his concerns.
“LGPro understands that negative connotations or tone could be inferred from reading the reportage on its case for reform in isolation and has apologised to the council for any offence caused if that were the case,” the spokesperson said.
“LGPro believes that some of the commentary was not an accurate representation of the sensible reforms LGPro has been calling for in good faith and has addressed this in correspondence to council.”
The notice of motion was carried with seven councillors voting for the motion and four against it.
