Indeed — Words are easy. So… three years later… what ?

The Kangaroo Island Council’s CEO has changed early 2011, but otherwise… As the French say: “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” — The more it changes, the more it’s the same.

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From The Islander, 9/10/2008

KI Council ‘knows its shortcomings’

The Kangaroo Island Council has admitted it is not perfect but is making changes in its practices and policies.

The Acting State Ombudsman Ken MacPherson last week accused local government officers of widespread abuse of power and maladministration.

In evidence he gave to the Parliament’s Economic and Finance Committee, Mr MacPherson accused councils of being sneaky and using expiation notices for things such as barking dogs, and selling abandoned cars without permission. “Things like expiation notices are not there to be used for some social issue, they are not there for retribution or social control,” Mr MacPherson said.

Mr MacPherson was expected to name the particular councils he was talking about at a further hearing in-camera on October 15 and they would be named publicly when the committee’s report was tabled in Parliament.

Kangaroo Island Council chief executive officer Carmel Noon said there had been major restructuring and training “to ensure an open, honest, transparent council”.

Several councils responded to a press release put out by the Member for Finniss Michael Pengilly after Mr MacPherson’s evidence. Mr Pengilly said Mr MacPherson’s report had “tipped a giant bucket” on local government in SA and “raised serious questions as to whether … it is up to the job”. Mr Pengilly called for a full inquiry into local government in SA and suggested all planning responsibilities be centralised. “I call on the Local Government Minister Gago to take urgent and immediate action to get to the bottom of what appears to be a merky and suspicious mess…,” Mr Pengilly said.

Mr Pengilly later said he had no issue with the four councils in his electorate, including Kangaroo Island. “I have no reason to doubt that the four councils in my electorate are acting entirely properly and I’m confident their chief executives are doing a good job,” Mr Pengilly said. Mr Pengilly had forwarded a copy of the committee evidence transcripts to every elected member of those four councils.

Ms Noon said the Kangaroo Island Council had been “proactive rather than reactive” in addressing its shortcomings. “If the Acting Ombudsman came knocking on our door … we would feel very confident in producing a body of evidence to demonstrate that we have recognised our shortcomings way before he pointed them out,” Ms Noon said. She said some of the actions taken by the council included a planning audit which had now turned into an action list; three restructures of the organisation in the past year to ensure clear reporting responsibilities and accountability; an asset management plan and long-term financial plan nearing completion; participation in the Local Government Association’s Good Governance pilot program; the KI Study and its implementation. “We are somewhat disappointed with the language Mr Pengilly uses … (which) certainly does not reflect this council and our neighbouring councils’ operations and activities,” Ms Noon said.