{"id":33809,"date":"2020-07-30T00:08:31","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T14:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=33809"},"modified":"2020-07-29T23:23:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T13:23:16","slug":"city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"City releases transparency and governance policies for comment"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE City of Greater Geelong council has invited the community to provide feedback on the council\u2019s draft Public Transparency Policy and draft Governance Rules.
\nAt a special meeting of council on July 21, councillors resolved to release the proposed policy and rules for public consultation.
\nThe new policies must be adopted by the council by September 1 as a result of the passage of the Local Government Bill 2019 through state Parliament, which replaced the Local Government Act 1989.
\nGeelong mayor Stephanie Asher said the council specifically called the special meeting to release the two drafts as doing so at their July 28 meeting \u201cwouldn\u2019t have left enough time for an appropriate period of community feedback\u201d.
\n\u201cWe want to give you all as much time as you need to read and digest the two draft documents, and give us any suggestions or ideas on how they might be approved.\u201d
\nThe draft Public Transparency Policy identifies council\u2019s transparency and information sharing commitments, such as publication of meeting minutes, the city\u2019s Annual Report and register of interests, and how residents can access this information.
\nIt also outlines policies for the protection of security information and management of commercial and sensitive information.
\nCr Jim Mason said transparency was a cornerstone of our democracy.
\n\u201cThis policy defines what can and cannot be made publicly available, and it ensures that trust and integrity in decision-making, how we can best improve access to information, and how we can reduce unnecessary hurdles and time-wasting red-tape.\u201d
\nThe draft Governance Rules describe how the council will make decisions fairly and conduct meetings, how records of decision-making processes are kept and procedures for how councillors and committee members can disclose indirect or direct conflicts.
\nSome of the changes to the rules include the inclusion of gender-neutral language and a new provision for conducting meetings remotely.
\nCr Kylie Grzybek said she was pleased the draft governance policy had gender-neutral language.
\nShe said she was \u201ca little concerned\u201d about some of the changes (without offering specific examples) but would reserve judgement \u201cuntil we get all the thinking from the community\u201d.
\nCr Anthony Aitken said he was concerned about the changes proposed to councillors bringing a notice of motion, and foreshadowed he would propose an alternate policy.
\n\u201cI do believe, as it\u2019s currently worded in the draft, that they are too restrictive; they actually provide a restraint on councillors with one of what is their few democratic rights.\u201d
\nTo read both draft documents and make comment, head to https:\/\/yoursay.geelongaustralia.com.au\/public-transparency-policy-and-governance-rules-lga-2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE City of Greater Geelong council has invited the community to provide feedback on the council\u2019s draft Public Transparency Policy and draft Governance Rules. At a special meeting of council on July 21, councillors resolved to release the proposed policy and rules for public consultation. The new policies must be adopted by the council by […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":33810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-33809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCity releases transparency and governance policies for comment - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"City releases transparency and governance policies for comment - Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THE City of Greater Geelong council has invited the community to provide feedback on the council\u2019s draft Public Transparency Policy and draft Governance Rules. At a special meeting of council on July 21, councillors resolved to release the proposed policy and rules for public consultation. The new policies must be adopted by the council by [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-29T14:08:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/07\/Untitled-design-6-9.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"James Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c1765be3a722a2023e6ce64487db8b45\"},\"headline\":\"City releases transparency and governance policies for comment\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-29T14:08:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":429,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/Untitled-design-6-9.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/\",\"name\":\"City releases transparency and governance policies for comment - Geelong Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/Untitled-design-6-9.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-29T14:08:31+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/Untitled-design-6-9.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/Untitled-design-6-9.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Between March and June, the council allocated $10.8 million through four separate coronavirus support packages\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"City releases transparency and governance policies for comment\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"width\":248,\"height\":37,\"caption\":\"Geelong Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c1765be3a722a2023e6ce64487db8b45\",\"name\":\"James Taylor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8806dd1b3d7d759df0e11347cb4538247cb0593856e831613ecbf76c9c59eb4b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8806dd1b3d7d759df0e11347cb4538247cb0593856e831613ecbf76c9c59eb4b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8806dd1b3d7d759df0e11347cb4538247cb0593856e831613ecbf76c9c59eb4b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James Taylor\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/author\\\/james\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"City releases transparency and governance policies for comment - Geelong Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"City releases transparency and governance policies for comment - Geelong Times","og_description":"THE City of Greater Geelong council has invited the community to provide feedback on the council\u2019s draft Public Transparency Policy and draft Governance Rules. At a special meeting of council on July 21, councillors resolved to release the proposed policy and rules for public consultation. The new policies must be adopted by the council by [...]Read More...","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/","og_site_name":"Geelong Times","article_published_time":"2020-07-29T14:08:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/07\/Untitled-design-6-9.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"James Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Taylor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/"},"author":{"name":"James Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c1765be3a722a2023e6ce64487db8b45"},"headline":"City releases transparency and governance policies for comment","datePublished":"2020-07-29T14:08:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/"},"wordCount":429,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/07\/Untitled-design-6-9.png","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/","name":"City releases transparency and governance policies for comment - Geelong Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/07\/Untitled-design-6-9.png","datePublished":"2020-07-29T14:08:31+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/07\/Untitled-design-6-9.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/07\/Untitled-design-6-9.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Between March and June, the council allocated $10.8 million through four separate coronavirus support packages"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/city-geelong-transparency-governance-policies\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"City releases transparency and governance policies for comment"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","name":"Geelong Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization","name":"Geelong Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","width":248,"height":37,"caption":"Geelong Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c1765be3a722a2023e6ce64487db8b45","name":"James Taylor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8806dd1b3d7d759df0e11347cb4538247cb0593856e831613ecbf76c9c59eb4b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8806dd1b3d7d759df0e11347cb4538247cb0593856e831613ecbf76c9c59eb4b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8806dd1b3d7d759df0e11347cb4538247cb0593856e831613ecbf76c9c59eb4b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"James Taylor"},"url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/author\/james\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33809"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=33809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}