NSW Minister for Local Government, Leader of the House, Ron Hoenig has called for more transparency in local government during the NSW Local Government Conference in Tamworth last week.
The New England Times reports that in his opening speech, Minister Hoenig outlined his planned reforms for council governance, calling for more transparency in local government, more realistic assessment of government assets, and fewer constraints on mayors and councillors by public servants.
The Minister has also stated that he was working on reforms using the briefings and briefing documents, opening up these otherwise closed instruments to the scrutiny of the public and involved industries, as they were often used to avoid “not just the law” around council transparency, but also “the spirit of the law”.
Among his other plans for reform were changing how council assets were assessed, saying that it’s no use to consider a council asset for financial purposes if you’re not able to sell it.
