Clarence Valley Council fights to limit access to its local government register of councillors' interests

And local government wonders why it has such a bad reputation across Australia.......

Clarence Valley councillors (left to right)
Back Row: Andrew Baker, Debrah Novak, Karen Toms, Richie Williamson, Peter Ellem, Greg Clancy
Front Row; Jim Simmons, Arthur Lysaught, Jason Kingsley
IMAGE: Clarence Valley Independent, 22 January 2020

Clarence Valley Independent, 22 January 2020:

Five of the valley’s councillors have remained staunch in their opposition to uploading their annual disclosure of interest returns to Clarence Valley Council’s (CVC) website. 

Councillors Williamson, Lysaught, Baker, Kingsley and Ellem were unmoved by a NSW Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) statement that called out the councillors’ decision at the November council meeting. 

Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd said that CVC and two other councils had “publicly stated their intention to adopt practices that appear to offend the requirements of the GIPA Act [Government Information (Public Access) Act] and Guideline 1”. 

“The resolutions by councils, as they seek to deviate from clear requirements under the GIPA Act, and justify non-compliance for privacy reasons will be something I consider carefully,” she said. 

The mayor, Jim Simmons, and councillors Toms and Novak (Cr Clancy was absent due to illness) supported the failed rescission motion, which was tabled by Cr Toms and co-signed by councillors Novak and Clancy. 

During questions before debate on the matter, Cr Baker asked if there was “any legislation” that compels CVC to upload the declarations. General manager Ashley Lindsay said “there is” and that CVC would have to provide a “reason why the declarations of interest are not provided on the website”. 

Councillor Lysaught asked if rejecting the rescission motion would constitute “any formal breach” of regulations. Mr Lindsay said he had received “a number of correspondences” from the IPC and that they had “already put us on notice to show cause why [the disclosures] were not on the web”. 

Councillor Toms argued that CVC was duty-bound to comply with what she said was “legislation” and quoted from the IPC’s Information Access Guideline regarding the “mandatory proactive release” requirements” for “open access Information”. 

The guideline and the GIPA Act do, however, provide for exceptions, provided a council can prove uploading the disclosures “would impose unreasonable costs on the council, or if the council determined there was an overriding public interest against disclosing the information”. 

Neither of those concepts have been the subject of a councillor decision.

Councillor Toms said she hoped she had “convinced” the other councillors, “now that the Privacy Commission has written to the general manager with a ‘please explain’”. 

She said she was “a bit disappointed” that she had not seen the letter from the IPC. 

“It should have been shared with councillors,” she said..... 

CVC’s current policy is to make the disclosure available on request in the presence of a CVC officer.

Read the full article here.

Australia Institute Survey Reveals: Bushfires Cost 1.8 million Work Days, Leave 5 Million Sick from Smoke

The Australia Institute, media release, 23 January 2020: 

Survey Reveals: Bushfires Cost 1.8 million Work Days, Leave 5 Million Sick from Smoke 

New national survey research from The Australia Institute reveals most Australians have been personally impacted by the bushfires and smoke, including millions missing work or suffering health impacts. 

Additionally, the research shows concern about the impacts of climate change are especially high among those directly affected by the fires, as is the wish for the Government to do more to reduce carbon emissions. 

Key points 

- 57% of respondents reported some kind of direct impact from the bushfires and smoke. 

- 26% of survey respondents experienced negative health impacts from the fires’ smoke, representing 5.1 million Australian adults. 

• Health impacts were more widely reported in NSW (35%) and Victoria (29%). 

- 17% of full time workers and 8% of part time workers, representing 1.8 million Australians, reported they had missed work due to the fires. 

• This alone is estimated to have costed more than $1.3 billion in lost economic production, assuming only one lost day per worker. 

- Direct experience of impacts was associated with stronger concern about climate change. 

“Australia is in the grip of a national climate disaster. The social, economic and medical impacts are vast and only just starting to become clear,” said Tom Swann, senior researcher at the Australia Institute. 

“Our research shows that it’s likely more than 5 million Australian adults, along with many children, have suffered negative health impacts as a result of the fires and at least 1.5 million have missed work. 

“Even looking simply at lost work days, the bill is in the billions of dollars. The broader impacts and recovery efforts will cost many billions more and take many years. That is why it is so concerning that rising emissions threaten to make events like this even more common in the future. 

“Putting a levy on fossil fuel producers and establishing a National Climate Disaster Fund would move some of the financial burden of these events from the households, businesses and taxpayers that are currently forced to pick up the tab. 

“This research suggests that, as Australians face the escalating impacts of climate change in their own lives, calls for policies that reduce carbon emissions will continue to grow.” 

A polling brief, including detailed results, is available here.

Who is Responsible for the Australian Bushfire Crisis?

A Rational Fear at https://youtu.be/aEOBu0r47YY

Given the last seven years is anyone surprised that Australia has slipped once again in the international perceived corruption rankings?

Transparency International's Corruption Transparency Index ranks 180 countries by the perceived levels of public sector corruption. 

In 2019 Australia was one of only three countries highlighted as examples of the 21 countries countries who scores had markedly declined between 2012 and 2019 - Australia dropping 8 points from 85 out of 100 in 2012 (when it was the 7th least corrupt nation) to 77 out of 100 in 2019. 

It should be noted that the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison federal Coalition government came to power in September 2013. 

Transparency International's 2019 report points the finger at Australia's poor performance with regard to rules around campaign financing, donations and grants.

Stating of counties such as Australia that; unfair and opaque political financing and undue influence in decisionmaking and lobbying by powerful corporate interest groups, result in stagnation or decline in control of corruption. [my highlighting]


It would appear that it is not just "the Twitter crazies" who are concerned about the possibly higher levels of corruption in Australian federal, state & local governments and the public service.

It comes as no surprise that the report rated New Zealand (along with Denmark) as the perceived least corrupt nation. Once again shaming its near neighbour and ally Australia by comparison.

Cartoon of the Week

Alister Lockhart

Page One Images of the Week

The Daily Examiner, 17 January 2020:

Upper Clarence ecosytem buckling under stress of drought and bushfire.

The images of the river are from the Tabulam area, near Clarence River Wilderness Lodge.

The dead fish are from BIg Fish Flat, an area known for the protected eastern freshwater cod now only found in this river and commonly known as Clarence River Cod.

Quotes of the Week

"The big issues for anyone interested in a future on this continent – energy, water and climate – remained unaddressed. Mining and Murdoch maintained their vice-like grip on Australian politics and the minds of the masses. The rich got richer, and the poor got homeless.”  [Journalist David Lowe writing in Echo NetDaily, 17 January 2020]

"Right now the government is indulging in the equivalent of responding to polio by promising to invest in more iron lungs. And bizarrely, it is getting credit for it. Adaptation is not mitigation." [Journalist Greg Jericho writing in The Guardian, 19 January 2020]