QUEENSLAND councils are set to receive greater control and less red tape under sweeping reforms unveiled by the State Government.
The Local Government (Empowering Councils) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill will be introduced to Parliament later this year, with the Government describing it as a “fresh start for Queensland”.
The reforms aim to strengthen councils’ ability to deliver for their communities by streamlining legislation, improving governance frameworks, and cutting bureaucratic red tape.
Under the proposed changes, councillors will regain the power to appoint senior staff, mayors’ roles will be clarified, and candidates will no longer have to publish their home addresses.
The conduct complaints system will also be overhauled to reduce bureaucracy and improve integrity.
As part of the changes, Premier David Crisafulli confirmed that mayors will be formally recognised as the official spokespeople for their councils – a move that follows controversy earlier this year when Ipswich
Mayor Teresa Harding was nearly gagged by her council.
“The mayor will be officially the spokesperson of the local government, and councillors will be able to speak on behalf of issues that are important to them, and you will do so without the hand of bureaucracy stopping you from commenting on the things that matter to your community,” Mr Crisafulli told the Local Government Association of Queensland conference.
The reform closes a legal loophole that allowed a bloc of Ipswich councillors, led by veteran councillor Paul Tully, to try to prevent Ms Harding from speaking publicly on behalf of the Council.
Widespread community backlash forced the councillors to withdraw the motion.
Ms Harding said the change would ensure other mayors were not silenced for political reasons.
“Councillor Tully’s motion did send shockwaves throughout Queensland councils. It made it glaringly obvious that the Act didn’t have the proper powers to prevent councils from stripping away that power from mayors to communicate with their communities,” she said.
However, not everyone is convinced the reforms are an improvement.
Redland City Councillor Paul Golle warned that the Empowering Councils Bill could weaken local government accountability.
He said the legislation was being sold as reform but would in fact “weaken local government integrity”.
Cr Golle said giving councillors more say in senior appointments could invite political interference.
He also argued the Bill weakened training for councillors.
“The current system already allows unqualified people to manage multi-million-dollar budgets and make major planning decisions after just days of basic instruction – and now the Government wants to make it even less professional,” he said.
“Anyone can pay $250 and stand for council, no qualifications required.”
Cr Golle said he had seen candidates exaggerate or falsely claim qualifications to get elected.
“By the time the truth comes out, the public has been misled – and the Local Government Minister does nothing,” he said.
He argued that true reform would require candidates to prove their competency and qualifications before standing.
The Division 3 councillor also criticised the rise of candidates backed by protest groups and single-issue agendas, describing them as “one-trick ponies who do not represent the broader community”.
“Local government is already seen by many as the ‘wild west’ and this Bill makes it worse by stripping back misconduct rules,” he said.
