Corangamite mayor Chris O’Connor: need to be well informed.
CORANGAMITE Shire has vowed to vote on every issue it faces, with mayor Chris O’Connor warning if councillors aren’t in a position to vote then they shouldn’t be on council.
Part of the council’s code of conduct, which it agreed to on Tuesday night, includes councillors voting on each recommendation brought to council unless there is a declared conflict of interest.
New legislation brought in by the state government removed the compulsory requirement for councillors to vote on council issues.
Cr O’Connor said the new rules meant councillors could sit on the fence if they weren’t prepared to make tough decisions.
“I’ll say from my point of view, part of this council’s code of conduct is all councillors have committed to vote on every issue,” he said.
“I guess that means councillors need to be well informed and familiarise themselves with the issues.
“They’ve all made that commitment to their constituents so I commend them on that.”
Cr O’Connor said councillors were put on council to represent the community and deliberate on all issues brought before them.
He said if they felt like they weren’t across the issues or didn’t have the experience, they needed to get themselves in a position where they did.
“Otherwise you shouldn’t be on council,” he said.
cquirk@fairfaxmedia.com.au
