In the wake of yesterday’s Court decision against Shellharbour Councillor Helen Stewart, the Illawarra Greens have called for Councils to provide much-needed transparency in their operations.
Illawarra Greens Spokesperson Sue Fleet said, “This whole fiasco has resulted from the urgent need for Shellharbour Council to come clean with its residents.”
“Council has continually used claims of confidentiality to obstruct the free flow of information which residents of the city have a right to know.”
Councillor Stewart was found guilty of leaking information about a Department of Local Government report into the operation of Shellharbour Council. Other charges included leaking the General Manager’s employment contract.
“The General Manager’s employment contract should have been in the public domain,” said Ms Fleet. “There is no reason why this information should have been kept under wraps – the citizens of Shellharbour need to know how their Council operates and the conditions of employment of their employees.”
“We are not surprised that this Council is now under investigation by a Commission of Enquiry. Council meetings are side-tracked by personal vendettas, and are conducted with no regard for proper committee processes.”
“It is clear that both of the Illawarra’s ALP-dominated Councils are dysfunctional – Wollongong with its systemic corruption, and Shellharbour with its secrecy and in-fighting.”
“The Illawarra Greens want to see a return to open and accountable local government to avoid the risk of corruption as seen in Wollongong.”
“We want to see:
an end to corporate donations to Councillors;
full disclosure of all documents;
all Council meetings to be open to the public; and
responses provided to all residents’ correspondence within set time-frames.”
Contact: Sue Fleet, Shellharbour Spokesperson, 0402 819 577