Mr Peter Dorling and Mr Mark Davies have been appointed as municipal monitors to Geelong City Council until 31 December 2024 to provide continued support to the council.
Mr Dorling and Ms Prue Digby were initially appointed as monitors to the council from January 2023 for 12 months, following advice from both Local Government Victoria and the Chief Municipal Inspector.
The final report from Mr Dorling and Ms Digby notes that although the Council has made progress, work is still required to improve its governance policies, processes and practices.
In response to this advice, Minister for Local Government Melissa Horne has appointed Mr Dorling and Mr Mark Davies as municipal monitors to Geelong City Council from 9 April 2024 until 31 December 2024 under section 179 of the Local Government Act 2020.
The monitors will work closely with the Geelong City Council CEO to ensure governance improvements are fully implemented, and will ensure stability at the Council during the election of a new mayor following the October 2024 elections.
The Allan Labor Government is supporting and improving council accountability, governance and culture across the state through reforms to the Local Government Act 2020.
The Government will introduce new legislation before the local government elections in October 2024 to elevate governance and integrity standards in Victoria’s 79 councils, encouraging quality candidates to put themselves forward.
Reforms will introduce mandatory training for elected representatives, a uniform councillor code of conduct and strengthened powers for the Minister to address councillor conduct.
As stated by Minister for Local Government Melissa Horne
“I thank Mr Dorling and Ms Digby for their work as monitors to Geelong City Council last year. Their report shows that work still needs to be done to improve governance practices at the council, and the appointment of Mr Dorling and Mr Davies as municipal monitors will support that work.”
