IT’S the natural instinct of government bureaucracies, including local government administrators, to try and maintain a level of secrecy and control over just about everything they do.
And a source of great irritation for the powers that be at the Bass Coast Shire Council is Public Question Time at the monthly council meetings.
Each time there’s a change of council, they roll out a review of their governance rules, including attacking Public Question Time, and predictably, they’re at it again.
Key among the proposed changes this time are:
• The person who submitted the question must be present in the Chamber at Public Question Time… if the person is not present, the question will not be read out or included in the minutes. It will be included on the Engage Bass Coast page.
• Question time will be for a maximum of 30 minutes unless extended by a Council resolution.
Oh, they’ll tell you that the system is abused by those with a bee in their bonnet, that it’s only the same’ol people who ask the questions, that it delays the business of the meeting and distracts focus from the important matters of the day.
And that may be true.
But it also provides an opportunity for residents and ratepayers, who may have exhausted all other avenues of inquiry to have their concerns addressed in public, or to raise an issue of general concern, about the operations of council, that they believe everyone has a right to know.
It was only as a result of questions from the public, for example, that we got anywhere near finding out how much it cost to design and construct the cultural centre in Cowes, Berninneit.
In March 2024, Mario Boffa wanted to know how much it cost to build the facility, including the Passivhaus features, receiving the response that “Berninneit was built under a lump sum design and construction contract at a total cost of $32m. This cost included all design and construction works associated with Berninneit including Passivhaus certification.”
So, $32 million for design and construction. How much for equipment, artworks and all the rest we’ll probably never know.
The focus of the proposed change seems to be getting the questions off the council agenda and onto the shire’s ‘Engage Bass Coast’ website but out of sight is out of mind, and allows the shire bureaucracy to assume full control, again, over the release of information.
The other problem, insisting that members of the public asking the question must be at the meeting, on the third Wednesday of the month, at 1pm at Wonthaggi, disenfranchises just about everyone who works or who lives outside of Wonthaggi.
Certainly, question time has become something of a plaything for avid “council watchers”. But, so what? They often put questions that provide useful public information in response, and at least someone is taking an interest!
Importantly, though, they have often provided a genuine opportunity for residents and ratepayers to address issues in the public domain, and for council to demonstrate a level of openness and transparency which we’re told is highly prized.
