Council applies the gag

CASEY Council is moving to silence its own councillors and staff, in an attempt to bolster its flagging public image.
A proposal put to last Tuesday’s council meeting would see the mayor, CEO and council communications manager appointed as the only official spokespeople for the council.
Other councillors or staff may be given authority to speak, but only on specific matters.
A tightened communications policy was tabled at the meeting, but was described by Springfield Ward councillor Lorraine Wreford as “overly prescriptive”.
Arguing for the free flow of information from councillors to the public, Cr Wreford then successfully moved – by a majority of six votes – that the matter be discussed further at a briefing rather than at the open council meeting.
“A number of councillors have concerns,” she said.
Cr Smith refused to support a tighter policy: “I won’t accept it. There is a distinction between disparaging an organisation and communicating with the public.”
Cr Aziz agreed with the mayor that there was a need for a clear policy, but he wanted to be sure it would work.
“I understand where the mayor is coming from. We’ve had policies in the past that didn’t work. In the last term we had a policy on councillor conduct; I’m not sure how well that worked.”
Speaking on the motion, Cr Ablett said: “This is not an attempt to gag anyone. We have a professional communications department and we should be using their expertise.”
Cr Ablett said the communication policy was about “information sharing so that all were aware of others’ thoughts on issues”.
“It is about co-ordination, not control,” he said. “It is professional to work together as a team.”
Cr Ablett leads eight new councillors this term.
Tuesday’s council meeting heard that Casey’s name had been “damaged over the past 12 months because of what some had said to the media”.
The recommendation is to channel all communication through the communications department for a co-ordinated response.
Councillors would have to notify the communications department of intended approaches to the media.
Council officers would be prohibited from approaching the media directly, a practice common in all organisations with paid staff.
Authority to make public statements would rest with the mayor and the chief executive officer, or the communications manager, who might authorise other directors and managers, and ward councillors, to comment publicly, but only in relation to a particular matter.
The mayor or his delegate would be the ones to speak on council policy, political issues, and highly significant or sensitive matters affecting the council or municipality. The CEO or delegate would have the authority to speak on operational matters.
A significant addition to the existing policy is that councillors and staff would be prohibited from making “any disparaging remarks about other councillors or staff, to the media.”