The NSW Government is pushing ahead with reforms announced in Tamworth last year to improve transparency and behaviour in local councils, but buried in these worthy changes is a bizarre new rule: councillors must stand when the mayor enters the chamber and when addressing meetings.
Understood to be a personal fixation of the Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoenig, a number of local council members in the New England have commented privately that they think its a strange proposal and will be tough to implement.
This proposed requirement is not only impractical but also completely misses the point of local government – the closest level of government to the community, where locals come together to ensure the communities they live in run as smoothly and efficiently as possible by working together as equals. Let’s break down why it’s a terrible idea.
This is Performative, Not Practical
How does forcing councillors to repeatedly stand up and sit down improve democratic debate? Council meetings should be about getting things done, not playing out some kind of interpretive dance. It only creates unnecessary distractions from the real issues at hand—fixing the roads, collecting the rubbish, keeping the rates down and delivering essential community services and amenity.
Ironically, the leading reason given in a discussion paper for why the current code needed reform is, and I quote: “The councillor conduct framework distracts from, rather than enhances, robust democratic debate.”
There’s also the practicality of the technology councillors contend with in the chamber, with microphones and cameras set for sitting height, not standing. Who would pay the bill for all the work needed to adjust settings and potentially renovate council chambers to facilitate compliance with this edict? Better not be the ratepayers.
It’s an Exclusionary Rule
While the rule states councillors should stand “where they can,” it still sends a message that standing is expected. This could discourage people with disabilities, mobility issues, or other health concerns from participating in local government.
At a time when we need more diverse voices in our councils, why introduce a rule that could deter people from getting involved?
Why create an opportunity for people to look and feel different, excluded, and less than equal for absolutely no good reason?
The Mayor is Not the Speaker of Parliament
When pressed on the matter, the minister’s office replied:
It is a requirement for Members of Parliament (state and federal) and staff inside the chamber to stand when the Speaker enters. This change for councils is to bring them in line with the other tiers of government. Councillors who speak at the Local Government NSW conference are also required to stand and remain standing unless they are unable to do so.
The amendments to the Model Meeting Code provide councillors stand, “when they can”. Below is the relevant section from the code. The full consultation draft can be viewed here: https://www.olg.nsw.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Consultation-draft-of-the-new-Model-Code-of-Meeting-Practice-for-Local-Councils-in-NSW.pdf
7.1 Where they can, councillors and staff must stand when the mayor enters the chamber and when addressing the meeting
In State and Federal parliaments, members stand when addressing the chamber because it’s a practical way to catch the Speaker’s attention in a large, busy room. (They can also hold a piece of paper over their head, a quirk of parliamentary tradition that never fails to make me giggle.) It’s the same when you speak at big conferences, or give a speech at a wedding – you stand to be seen and heard over the crowd.
The Speaker also represents parliamentary tradition and impartiality – the Mace they have with them is the represents the authority of the Sovereign (at the moment, the King) and of the parliament, and it is that Sovereign authority people stand for.
Local councils are not parliaments, nor are they big crowded conference rooms. They’re more like committees of State Government, making decisions on local issues. And they can see and hear each other just fine sitting down.
Forcing councillors to stand every time the mayor walks in may also give an inflated sense of importance to a role that is meant to serve, not rule over, the community. The mayor is supposed to be first among equals in the chamber, not a superior being. This proposed reform would put distance between Councillors and the Mayor, and between Council and the Community, when the point of local government is to have it as close to the people as possible.
Let’s Focus on What Matters
Councils are under enormous pressure to deliver more with less, often picking up responsibilities that the state government has pushed onto them in the ever increasing scourge of cost shifting. Instead of wasting time on ceremonial nonsense, the State Government should be focusing on real reforms—like increasing funding for local projects, reducing cost shifting, improving accountability, and making sure councils can actually serve their communities.
Some of the proposed changes in the Model Meeting Code are good—such as requiring councils to explain decisions that go against staff recommendations. These are real steps towards transparency. And absolutely, councils need to be able to deal with badly behaving members.
But the standing up and down bit? It’s almost as bad as a Vengaboys song.
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