Victoria’s parliament has passed changes to the Local Government Act aimed at preventing untested private prosecutions from automatically suspending councillors and disabling a local council. The reform follows a case involving Hepburn Shire Council, where five councillors were forced to stand down earlier this year.
Hepburn businessman David Penman brought charges against Mayor Tony Clark and councillors Don Henderson, Shirley Cornish, Pat Hockey and Lesley Hewitt, as well as chief executive officer Bradley Thomas. The charges concerned alleged misuse of public office in relation to the adoption of the council’s annual budget without certain financial documents, according to ABC News.
Because of the charges, the five councillors were required under the existing act to stand down until the matters were dealt with in court. Their absence left the council without a quorum and unable to function. Opponents of the prosecution accused Mr Penman of using a legal loophole to effectively shut down the council.
The Director of Public Prosecutions later intervened and withdrew the charges, allowing the councillors to return to their roles. Rural Councils Victoria deputy chair and Corangamite Mayor Kate Makin said the episode raised concerns about procedural fairness and democracy. “It just showed that if it could happen to one council it could happen to all of the councils across Victoria,” she said, according to ABC News.
Under the amendment, a councillor will now be automatically stood down only when criminal proceedings are underway or when a law-enforcement agency is involved. The amendment has passed the upper house of parliament, and councillors across Victoria have welcomed the change.
Cr Clark described the reform as a relief for the Hepburn community and said it would give councillors greater confidence in their ability to act democratically and appropriately. “It’s fantastic it’s done, but I certainly would have hoped it had been fixed a little earlier than it was,” he said.