Perth Voice Interactive

BAYSWATER council is having too many secret discussions, says councillor Dan Bull who wants the number of confidential items minimised.

Under the local government act there’s a slew of reasons an item can be discussed behind closed doors. They include privacy if the council is discussing an employee or someone’s personal affairs, legal advice, or discussions about contracts so tenderers can’t get inside information and pull any shenanigans.

But a lot of them are a matter of discretion, and even if an issue is technically exempted, it can be discussed if “no harm is likely to follow from disclosure of the information”. Many councils have also been drawing a long bow when determining whether to discuss things without public scrutiny.

Cr Bull moved a motion asking for a new draft policy “with the aim of minimising confidential items in council meetings, as well as an accompanying explanatory note for the public” as to why it was confidential.

It was unanimously backed by all councillors, and the staff will now draft something up in time for September 1.

Also on the transparency front, Cr Bull got up another unanimously-voted motion to have a dedicated portal on the city’s website leading to all the accountability and governance information a ratepayer could want, from links to gift and travel registers, to how much councillors are paid and the number of employees paid over $100,000 a year. Some of that information could already be viewed if someone rocks up to council in person and arranges to pore over the papers, but it’s not a very approachable method, takes a lot of time, and the occasions we’ve done it you’re assigned a council bureaucrat to watch over you while you take notes and no photos of the documents were allowed.

by DAVID BELL