Call that democracy!

16/9/2025

Frank Schooneveldt asks why our councillors aren’t allowed to talk to us.

By Frank Schooneveldt

ACCORDING to the latest Sentinel-Times (16/09/2025) Bass Coast Shire councillors are highly restricted in what they can do and say.

To quote Cr Meg Edwards, “As one of your elected representatives on Bass Coast Council I welcome listening, reading and understanding your views and concerns on council issues and look forward to assisting you where possible. While I personally welcome the opportunity to meet with you and your group in person, Bass Coast Council has a policy that requires any invitation to a Councillor, be put via Councillor Support who can be contacted via the following email address.”

In Victoria local government councils are legally required to adopt “governance rules” that cover how meetings are run, how conflicts of interest are managed, how decisions are made and how the public can participate.

Bass Coast Shire Council Governance Rules
Adopted 20 August 2025

These rules are supposed to ensure fairness and consistency, not restrict our democratic rights.

Like Cr Meg Edwards I believe in open two-way communication. I believe that our elected representatives are approachable and can assist us in addressing our issues. However, the Bass Coast management have restricted what our councillors can do in terms of public discussion.

I asked AI to list restrictions on Bass Coast councillors. Here they are:

They can’t use their role to make election-campaign style statements, promises or actions during the election period that would influence voters (as defined by the Election Period Policy
They can’t respond to public questions outside the audited/approved process (e.g. outside Public Question Time), or allow unlimited follow-ups; all must follow the set process (submission deadlines, word limits, etc.).
They can’t continue debates or discussions beyond what’s in the agenda for public meetings unless properly moved, seconded, debate allowed, etc.
They can’t leak or publicly discuss confidential matters that the CEO has determined should remain confidential.
They are constrained by formal petitions and submissions rules: public concerns need to comply with those rules to be considered.
During council meetings, decorum and formality govern what can be said or how things are said; they can’t allow or engage in disrespectful or unprocedural remarks.

This is not democracy! This is George Orwell’s 1984!

7 Comments

Michael Whelan

19/9/2025 11:33:33 am

Talk about a beat-up Frank. You do these councillors a disservice.

To suggest that councillors can no longer speak on issues that are pressing to them in nonsense. They are not entitled to represent their private views as representing Council's position but so long as they make it clear they are expressing a private view that has always been accepted. The example you put about "They can’t use their role to make election-campaign style statements, promises or actions during the election period" is because they would have an advantage over another person standing for election it is plain and simply a fairness issue. Councillors have a platform not available to others in the community we expect them to use it wisely. The huff and puff you express above about restrictions have a reasonable explanation if you bother to pursue it.

Ross Bencraft

16/10/2025 09:27:43 am

A "role" and "platform" you used as mayor, to refuse to answer 121 questions from ratepayers. as John Trigt's FOI request uncovered.

Frank W Schooneveldt

19/9/2025 02:32:54 pm

Hi Michael,
The Sentinel-Times article and Cr Meg Edward’s seemingly present a different view.
The BCSC Governance Rules cover some 56 pages in seven chapters. I found the concise summary generated by AI useful. It would have also been useful if a concise summary could have been generated by BCSC and/or the State Government.
I thought AI did an excellent summary in such a concise manner.
Cheers

Oliver Jobe

22/9/2025 04:08:15 pm

Hi Frank,

Councillors often express their own beliefs, Ronnie Bauer has the Israeli flag on his profile and Mat Morgan has spoken at numerous events where he has made his political stance clear including on social media.

Also, don't use AI to summarize anything, Artificial Intelligence is extremely unreliable at often makes factual errors or simplifies something to the point that it's wrong, your article is 40% AI generated (141 out of 352) and just screams "I'm to can't be bothered to care about this, it should not have been published in the first place

Frank W Schooneveldt

23/9/2025 06:35:22 am

I don’t Agee with you Oliver. AI is a fantastic productivity tool.
Lawyers and Accountants love it to read documents very quickly and highlight important facts. AI saves on labour costs.
Cheers

Rob Parsons

24/9/2025 01:53:42 pm

Frank Schooneveldt raises an important issue about the new Bass Coast Shire Council Governance Rules adopted on 20 August 2025. These rules are required under the Local Government Act 2020 and, like in all Victorian councils, they set the procedures for meetings, questions, petitions, conflicts of interest, and the election period.
Frank is right that the rules put firm limits on how councillors can operate during meetings:
Public Question Time is restricted – questions must be lodged in writing 48 hours before, are limited to 50 words, only two per person, and a maximum of 30 minutes unless extended.
Petitions must meet strict requirements for format, signatures and timing to be valid.
Debates and motions must follow set procedures; councillors cannot simply extend debate beyond agenda items.
Confidential matters are determined by the CEO, and councillors cannot disclose them.
Election period rules prevent councillors from making campaign-style statements or using council resources in ways that could influence voters.
Where there is some misunderstanding is around councillors’ general role outside meetings. The rules do not prevent councillors from:
Meeting residents or community groups,
Expressing personal views publicly (except on confidential or election-period matters),
Advocating for issues important to their ward.
The restrictions are about how business is conducted inside meetings and through formal council processes, not about gagging councillors in their day-to-day contact with the community.
It’s fair to say the rules are highly procedural and can feel inflexible. Many residents are frustrated at the tight limits on Question Time and the requirement to channel invitations or communications through “Councillor Support.” But it’s also important to recognise that these governance rules are designed to ensure consistency, fairness, and legal compliance – even if they sometimes reduce spontaneity and accessibility.
In short, councillors are not gagged in all their dealings with the public. They remain free to speak, listen and represent, but their conduct in official meetings is tightly regulated.

Deb

14/10/2025 08:47:53 pm

Not only is genuine community engagement off the table but I was recently made aware that the review being undertaken for the Climate Change Action Plan has been mostly generated by AI. It's very troubling to think the staff at BCSC are encouraged to avoid research and are instead relying on generic material generated by ChatGPT. I would be interested to run each of their current strategic plans through an AI Tracker.

Worrying signs

Call that democracy!

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