Tom Sharp's
Blog
11-06-2020
SHARP COMMENT 5 - PERPETUATING THE MYTH
Since the formation of Scenic Rim Regional Council in 2008 various councillors, some past and some present, from time to time (usually around budget time) have sprouted the idea that the SRRC is unique in terms of rate structure and budget needs, given its large area and small population when compared to three of its neighbouring municipalities in Gold Coast, Logan and Ipswich with a combined population of 1.3 million people versus 40,000 in the Scenic Rim.
The stance is generally one that is taken to defend the higher rate charge that is paid when compared to these particular neighbours. It is a complete nonsense.
The core business of any council is “roads, rates and rubbish” and delivering that business to its customers, efficiently and effectively, is its core focus.
Beyond that a council asks the constituency: What services and infrastructure do you want; what are you prepared to pay for them/it and what are the priorities?
The Australian Royal Banking Commission exposed the big question – how do banks provide financial services to customers “efficiently, fairly and honestly”.
In 99 per cent of cases examined in that inquiry it found misconduct driven “not only by the relevant entity’s pursuit of profit but also by individuals’ pursuit of gain”, while providing a service to customers “was relegated to second place”.
It is now suggested that there will be four major impacts of focus over the coming decade with regard to corporate governance: putting the core focus on customers; emboldening the regulators; lifting accountability and professionalism; and ensuring boards govern for a wider purpose than profit.
Our governing body is ultimately the State Government of Queensland who are $90,000 million in debt, cannot provide a budget of their own, want to buy an airline, shut down the economy through social distancing laws only to ignore those very laws by allowing a gathering of 30,000 people, with the top bureaucrat in the job of managing municipalities (Department of Local Government) on $500,000 whose best attempt at better accountability and transparency was a compulsory training session for council candidates to tick the right boxes on respect, behaviour and responsibilities.
There was no competent training with regard to the five core principles and values of Local Government with special regard to one in particular: To ensure the effective and economical delivery of services, councillors will manage council resources effectively, efficiently and economically.
One of the major conclusions of the Australian Royal Banking inquiry was this: “That responsibility has to start with the board. Clearly one of the messages is that boards weren’t asking enough questions and weren’t asking the right questions. If boards ask the right questions of executives, they will be asking the right questions in the company.”
The Queensland Audit Office provides an annual score on all manner of things and SRRC continues to rank very highly, so high you would think this entity is first rate. Typical audit benchmark questions are: Do you get your rates out on time and do you pay your staff on time. In both cases the SRRC scores 100/100.
The measure of an organisation’s performance cannot be benchmarked against a fellow organisation that is not working in a “survival of the fittest” landscape and that is only accountable to its own brethren and whereby its customer base cannot change authorities without moving jurisdiction.
It is time for councillors to ask the relevant questions; know the services we want; know the true costs of providing those services; know the true cost of maintaining our infrastructure (for example, the true cost of re-building 1km of road in a competitive landscape) and restore the governance of this region to the people.
I note in Division Two Councillor McConnell’s latest Facebook update that he is intending to hold “community forums” in the major centres within his division after July.
I commend the councillor for this action and look forward to attending at least one of his briefings.
I would make the following recommendations to Councillor McConnell:
Do not come with a fixed agenda – if it is truly a forum for your constituency, then allow the constituents to set the agenda and discuss what is relevant to them regarding council matters.
Keep any presentation to a minimum – everyone has been hearing the same bureaucratic guff for four years or more – open up the question time to the maximum and let people find out what is going on.
Bring with you the CEO and four GMs – it will be a brilliant opportunity for your constituents to engage with these leaders and question their actions in an unstaged environment.
Hold the forums after ratepayers have been delivered their rate notice.
One would only hope that all councillors will follow suit and that there is true, open and real engagement with the people across the region.
If these steps are taken there may well be an opportunity of taking the very first steps towards re-building some sort of trust.
Tom Sharp
The stance is generally one that is taken to defend the higher rate charge that is paid when compared to these particular neighbours. It is a complete nonsense.
The core business of any council is “roads, rates and rubbish” and delivering that business to its customers, efficiently and effectively, is its core focus.
Beyond that a council asks the constituency: What services and infrastructure do you want; what are you prepared to pay for them/it and what are the priorities?
The Australian Royal Banking Commission exposed the big question – how do banks provide financial services to customers “efficiently, fairly and honestly”.
In 99 per cent of cases examined in that inquiry it found misconduct driven “not only by the relevant entity’s pursuit of profit but also by individuals’ pursuit of gain”, while providing a service to customers “was relegated to second place”.
It is now suggested that there will be four major impacts of focus over the coming decade with regard to corporate governance: putting the core focus on customers; emboldening the regulators; lifting accountability and professionalism; and ensuring boards govern for a wider purpose than profit.
Our governing body is ultimately the State Government of Queensland who are $90,000 million in debt, cannot provide a budget of their own, want to buy an airline, shut down the economy through social distancing laws only to ignore those very laws by allowing a gathering of 30,000 people, with the top bureaucrat in the job of managing municipalities (Department of Local Government) on $500,000 whose best attempt at better accountability and transparency was a compulsory training session for council candidates to tick the right boxes on respect, behaviour and responsibilities.
There was no competent training with regard to the five core principles and values of Local Government with special regard to one in particular: To ensure the effective and economical delivery of services, councillors will manage council resources effectively, efficiently and economically.
One of the major conclusions of the Australian Royal Banking inquiry was this: “That responsibility has to start with the board. Clearly one of the messages is that boards weren’t asking enough questions and weren’t asking the right questions. If boards ask the right questions of executives, they will be asking the right questions in the company.”
The Queensland Audit Office provides an annual score on all manner of things and SRRC continues to rank very highly, so high you would think this entity is first rate. Typical audit benchmark questions are: Do you get your rates out on time and do you pay your staff on time. In both cases the SRRC scores 100/100.
The measure of an organisation’s performance cannot be benchmarked against a fellow organisation that is not working in a “survival of the fittest” landscape and that is only accountable to its own brethren and whereby its customer base cannot change authorities without moving jurisdiction.
It is time for councillors to ask the relevant questions; know the services we want; know the true costs of providing those services; know the true cost of maintaining our infrastructure (for example, the true cost of re-building 1km of road in a competitive landscape) and restore the governance of this region to the people.
I note in Division Two Councillor McConnell’s latest Facebook update that he is intending to hold “community forums” in the major centres within his division after July.
I commend the councillor for this action and look forward to attending at least one of his briefings.
I would make the following recommendations to Councillor McConnell:
Do not come with a fixed agenda – if it is truly a forum for your constituency, then allow the constituents to set the agenda and discuss what is relevant to them regarding council matters.
Keep any presentation to a minimum – everyone has been hearing the same bureaucratic guff for four years or more – open up the question time to the maximum and let people find out what is going on.
Bring with you the CEO and four GMs – it will be a brilliant opportunity for your constituents to engage with these leaders and question their actions in an unstaged environment.
Hold the forums after ratepayers have been delivered their rate notice.
One would only hope that all councillors will follow suit and that there is true, open and real engagement with the people across the region.
If these steps are taken there may well be an opportunity of taking the very first steps towards re-building some sort of trust.
Tom Sharp