COUNCIL INVESTIGATIONS AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN TASMANIA

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Tasmania's director of local government has recommended that all Glamorgan Spring Bay councillors take a training course on their role and responsibilities. .......... The recommendation was contained in a report on the council that found while it operated reasonably well, council meetings were often unproductive. .......... Director of local government Phillip Hoysted investigated the council in response to complaints and made 18 recommendations.  .......... Mr Hoysted welcomed the council's response. .......... "There's only one [point] where we have a difference of opinion and that only relates to whether the general manager and the Mayor should meet with individual councillors or with the council as a whole to discuss issues and concerns, but that's a relatively minor matter," he said. .......... "No, the council has been very positive about the way in which they've responded." .......... Mr Hoysted said he would monitor the implementation of his recommendations. "In my covering letter to the Mayor I did ask that they develop an implementation plan that measures progress and reports regularly to both the council and myself," he said.... EDITED 

What's to be said? Firstly, this is the first council report in of the three councils that are currently 'under investigation'. The other two, apparently, are currently under active investigated. 

Reports from the council areas suggest that submissions are being called for from individuals and presumably from groups as well. ………... This suggests that "Something [might be] rotten in state of Denmark" (Hamlet Act 1, scene 4, 87–91). 

As in Hamlet, its the "state of Denmark" rather than just "Denmark" because there is the symbolic implication is that the fish is rotting from the head down and that all may not be well at the top of the political hierarchy down. 

There is a good case to be put that Tasmania’s Local Govt. Act 1993 is well past its 'use-by-date' given the level of dysfunctionalism that is seemingly becoming increasingly evident across council jurisdictions. 

It has often been said that “Tasmania is over governed” which carries the innuendo that, euphemistically at least, its governance draws upon too small a ‘gene-pool’. This may or may not be the case.

The political rattling going on about the ‘A’word, amalgamation, clearly needs to be more than a rattle. The Minister needs to push somewhat harder despite the resistance that’s bound to come from council administrations all over. 

After all there are salaries and superannuation packages at stake, some being very generous. 

Recent tinkering with Local Govt. has not quelled the disquiet and more than occasionally something resembling increasing alarm is detectable among ratepayers.

Therefore, this report; the first of three council investigations; given its recommendations; should be seen by ratepayers’ as a strong signal that it is Local Govt. per se that should be 'under investigation'. 

There are ratepayers all over contemplating better ways Local Govt. can be delivered and with more 

accountability. 

In the end its accountability that is the burning issue and it does not look like the disquiet is going away anytime soon.