Four of Moorabool’s seven councillors, David Edwards, Tom Sullivan, Pat Toohey and Allan Comrie, refused to sign the code at a council meeting in October 2013.
Cr Sullivan told Star Weekly last week: “Signing a paper doesn’t make you a good person.
“You should be judged by what you do, not what you say. Often we see hypocrites who sign the code and don’t act on it. Who is the bigger fraud then?”
But Cr Tatchell said it was important for councillors to show good faith and sign the code.
“From my perspective, signing the conduct is a requirement,” he said. “At the very least, it shows goodwill.”
Local Government Minister Natalie Hutchins announced last week that the state government planned to strengthen councillor standards, including allowing conduct panels to suspend councillors for six months in cases of serious misconduct and making it mandatory for councils to deal with alleged breaches.
The proposed Local Government (Improved Governance) Bill 2015 will be presented to Parliament this month and, if passed, will supplant the councillor conduct framework in the Local Government Act.
The changes will also give the minister the power to direct councils to “improve governance” and, on the advice of the municipal monitor, stand down councillors for up to six months to allow a panel to hear the matter.
“Misconduct among Victoria’s 624 councillors is, thankfully, rare,” Ms Hutchins said. “But when it does happen, it’s an unwelcome and unnecessary distraction that could be more easily dealt with by responsive and robust conduct laws.”
Moorabool council, at its own request, is being investigated by the Local Government Inspectorate for breaches of the Local Government Act.
Council chief executive Rob Croxford said he could not comment on the details of the investigation or whether the proposed changes would affect any councillors.
Cr Sullivan told Star Weekly last week. But he said he welcomed anything that improved government processes.
