Peninsula Shire Council

Governance: Local democracy

The Peninsula Council would recognise the importance of local democracy: But what would it involve?

Democracy means government by the people, and the Peninsula Council would take this seriously. Peninsula Council staff would see themselves as servants of the community, and responsive to the local community, its representatives and its needs.

The council would encourage meaningful participation of residents in all aspects of local democracy as well as in the community life generally.

A community's ability to make the best decisions relies on it being well-informed. The council would facilitate communication and the exchange of information among community members, including by the language and form of documents it circulates and through its consultation processes.

For effective administration, the council's policies and strategies would be clear, meaningful and unambiguous, and easy to follow and enforce.

What would Peninsula Council do?

How the council behaves

Standards and actions

A Peninsula Council would ensure all its policies and activities comply with the principles of the Rule of Law.
A Peninsula Council would adopt standards of Truth and Honesty and openness and transparency to apply to all aspects of council operation, defining the minimum requirements for document publication, and reducing the need for information disclosure (GIPA) requests.
A Peninsula Council would enable the Peninsula to have its own local government representation, at a level similar to most other NSW council areas.
A Peninsula Council would adopt the Doctrine of Separation of Powers, so that the elected representatives set the council agenda and frame, design and/or write council policies, while council staff formulate strategies to implement them.
A Peninsula Council would have a Peninsula-wide Community Strategic Plan and a Peninsula-wide Local Strategic Planning Statement.
A Peninsula Council would conduct a strategic planning review of the Peninsula to guide its long-term future, shaped primarily by community needs and responses to external pressures including climate change, regional visitors, tourism and population pressures.
A Peninsula Council would be responsive to the capacity and wishes of its community. Seeing itself as the product of a community with modest means, it would take a modest approach to its own role within the community. It would allow the community to determine which activities, projects and programs would proceed and which would not.