The Local Government Bill, which proposes changes to the current LG Act (1989), has been introduced into the Victorian Parliament today - see today's media release. The key themes aim to improve the performance of Victoria's 79 councils in deliberative local democracy, accountability and ser

We are in the brink of use new technology advancements that will significantly change how we live, work and relate with each other. In the Fourth Industrial Revolution (called Industry 4.0), we have been developing technologies, such as AI, virtual reality, big data, quantum computing and biotech,

In August 2017, Ipswich City Council was dismissed after two consecutive mayors and chief executives, as well as other staff and contractors, were charged with corruption offences. Now Logan is the second council sacking in Queensland, linked to fraud and corruption charges. See quoted article

Sounds like Sutherland Shire Councillors are fans of Gordon Gekoo, his infamous catchphrase " "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." Today's news article from the Sydney Herald Sun (see quoted news below) reveals that Surtherland Shire Council wants to change their rating method to an C

The Victorian Government is conducting a full review into the Victorian Local Government Rating System. The Terms of Reference explains the objectives, scope and implementation plan of the review process, which completes by 31 March 2020 . The goal is to identify changes that will improve its

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) is conducting a review about the electoral structure of each local councils in Victoria. In compliance to the Local Government Act (1989), this representation review occurs before every third general election, that equates to every 12 years, sometimes allowi

"Corruption chips away at democracy to produce a vicious cycle, where corruption undermines democratic institutions and, in turn, weak institutions are less able to control corruption" Patricia Moreira, Managing Director, Transparency International (2019). Disappointingly, Australia is o

All of us involved in scrutinizing governance performance of councils understand the common and growing issues. However, there is lack of an official national perspective of the common governance issues prevailing in Australia councils. The states and territories' reform plans and priorities, the r

Equal participation in decision making is the highest empowerment of local democracy. This was VLGA’s legacy value to its members, until last week when majority to AGM attendees voted last week to pass a constitution change that demotes individual members to become associate members and losing the

Yesterday, Communications Alliance, a telco peak body has revealed that the 2015 legislated Metadata Act can be exercised without a warrant by any agencies, not just by the act’s authorized list of “criminal law-enforcement agencies”. This means that any state and federal departments and agenc

24 community groups have gathered at the WA Parliament to rally against what they believe is a skewed planning system. Civil actions like making phone calls and writing letters expressing their views are no longer working. Local Development Assessment Panel (LDAP) meetings are normalizing “confron

Read this ABC news article (5 Nov 2018) - "China is changing our cities — but it's not as simple as an 'invasion' or a 'takeover' ". It is an eye opener when the article alerted that: The racialised talk of "Asian invasion" blames Chinese migrants and investors for many local liveability

On 6 October 2018, we had our Annual General Meeting. The governance and operating teams' membership remains unchanged. Click here for the Annual Report 2017/18.

“Good culture and proper governance cannot be implemented by passing a law. Culture and governance are affected by rules, systems and practices but in the end,  they depend upon people applying the right standards and doing their jobs properly”.       &nbs

Public notice that the annual general meeting will be hosted on 6th October 2018. Venue: Level 8, Room 9, 445 Swanston St, Melbourne Time: 10:30 to 11:30 am Agenda Items Meeting Opening Annual Report, including Treasurer's Report Nomination of Governance (Association) Positions: President

In Jan 2018, China made the decision to stop accepting and hence importing scarp metal, plastic, paper and chemical waste from foreign countries. In 2015, China imported over 47 million tons of waste (Radio Free Asia, 2018). In the wake of the ban, most developed nations, including the USA, Britain

Welcome to Ratepayers Australia. Interested in improving good governance functioning and leadership in your council? If yes, this site is for you. We collaborate with: Ratepayers and residents; State and federal agencies who oversee Australian states' and territories' local government po