The state government’s proposed reforms to how Queensland councils operate are about creating standard regulation and better transparency, Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe says.
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A detailed document laying out planned changes across campaign spending caps, right to information, and council elections was released on Tuesday night.
The proposed changes form part of the state government’s response to the Crime and Corruption Commission’s Belcarra report, handed down last year after allegations of corruption at several south-east Queensland councils including Ipswich.
The document included proposals for better tracking of electoral finance, third party donations to council candidates, and registers of interest for candidates.
A cap on election campaigns included a sliding scale of spending amounts. Council candidates with divisions of fewer than 20,000 voters would be limited to a $10,000 spending limit, with councillors of more than 40,000 voters limited to $20,000.
On Wednesday, Mr Hinchliffe said the dollar amount of the proposed spending cap would be subjected to consultation.
Mr Hinchliffe said the principles of Queensland's spending cap mirrored those in other jurisdictions, such as New South Wales.
"We're seeking to put forward a proposal that the number one thing that determines the outcomes of local government elections is voters and to reduce the risk of local government elections being dominated by special interests," he said.
"The measures that are in place are about winding back the arms race in terms of campaign expenditure while also making sure that it's a level playing field for all the participants."
Brisbane City Council in particular would face several changes, including the removal of its own councillor complaints system and the requirement for all committee meetings to keep minutes.
The new Office of the Independent Assessor would instead investigate conduct complaints against Brisbane councillors and would be subject to the same intervention powers as other councils.
Mr Hinchliffe said it was important for the system to deal with councillor conduct across all 77 councils to be standardised.
"Having one council being one out and operating in a different way was not seen as satisfactory," he said.
"This was the subject of extensive consultation with Brisbane City Council and I understand they are very supportive of that measure."
Mr Hinchliffe also said Brisbane City Council's civic cabinet would again be subject to right to information laws, but it would not be retrospective.
"[It's] really returning matters to the way in which they worked before 2010," he said.
"This isn't a new operating model for the Brisbane City Council, it's in fact returning to the past, and the initial reaction of the lord mayor [Graham Quirk] made to me about it was he didn't think it would change things much.
"This measure is about openness, transparency and accountability, as all of our local government reforms are."
Mr Hinchliffe said he understood concerns raised by the Local Government Association of Queensland about proportional representation but it would not change the size of the ballot paper.
"It would potentially be the same number of candidates, it's just a different way of voting," he said.
"I do appreciate the concerns they raised about exhaustion, about how a model which required people to number every square on that ballot paper would be potentially a problem and I've been very open to say that's why we need to engage and consult about it."
Brisbane City Council’s LNP members have been particularly vocal in their rejection of the suggestion for preferential voting, saying it would unfairly stack elections in favour of Labor candidates.
What does the state government want to introduce?
- Compulsory preferential voting in council elections, standardising the election system across all three tiers of government.
- Compulsory candidate training and a sliding scale of spending caps on council candidate campaigns.
- Proportional representation on undivided councils, changing how wards are used.
- Tighter regulation on discretionary funds and clarity on council candidate campaign finance records.
- Public funding for council candidate campaigns in a bid to reduce candidate reliance on third-party donations.
- Greater transparency in council meetings and the topics they discuss.
- Reforming Brisbane City Council’s councillor complaint system to standardise it with all other councils.
- All council committees to keep meeting minutes.
- Brisbane City Council’s establishment and coordination committee loses its exemption for right to information requests.
- Registers of interest published for the public interest, including all candidates required to disclose any contracts they have with council, their political party membership or any development applications they or close associates have before council.
- Community consultation on council budgets.
- Greater limitations on what can be done during caretaker periods after a council election date is announced.
- The allowance for undivided councils to nominate for mayor and councillor - divided councils may not have dual candidacy for mayor and councillor.
- Real time financial and gift disclosures for council candidates, groups of candidates, and third parties.
- Greater regulation on councillor conflicts of interest including better disclosure of contracts between the council and councillor or their close associates.
- Councillors must be given information they request from council within five days.
