Fury over new rules that ‘gag’ councillors
Updated ,first published
Hobsons Bay City Council has officially adopted restrictive new media and privacy policies despite a last-minute hard line from a bloc of councilors who warned the move spelled the end of transparent local democracy and likened it to state surveillance from “Big Brother”.
Western Suburbs Council Voted on Tuesday night Passing the controversial Media Policy and Alderman Privacy Policy, effectively centralizing all public communications under the mayor and shielding internal briefing documents from public view.
The vote split the council by a 4-3 score, with Deputy Mayor Lisa Bentley and council members Daria Kellander and Michael Disbury voting against the measures.
The proposed media policy designates the mayor as the council’s “chief spokesperson” and prohibits other council members from commenting to the media without the mayor’s “discretion and approval.”
A separate confidentiality policy was also adopted classifying all agendas, staff papers and presentations for councilor briefing meetings as “internal documents” protected from the public.
“This council’s privacy policy is not about good governance, it’s about control,” Bentley said. “This is about restricting the people who elect you…reducing transparency when our community deserves more of it, not less.”
“Councillors are not employees of the communications department. We are directly elected representatives accountable to our communities, not to a bureaucratic approval process… That’s not how a healthy democracy works,” said Councilwoman Daria Kellander.
But the council’s pro-policy bloc – including Councilors Kristin Bishop, Paddy Keys-Macpherson, Rayane Hawli and Mayor Diana Grima – defended the changes as a necessary “upgrade” to governance standards.
“Individual councilors do not have the power to make their views the Council’s position and that is essentially what is prevented by this policy,” Bishop said.
early in the day Bentley suggested council members acted “strongly” in agreeing to the rules, which were on the council’s agenda five days ago, under the intervention of the state government on the council.
“I think it comes from strong-armed tactics. [the state government]”He appointed observers on our council who essentially became Big Brother,” he said.
In separate statements AgeA council and a state government spokesman rejected any suggestion that any threats had been made to extend the terms of state-appointed controllers if the policies were blocked.
A state government spokesman said: “Council policies put forward for consideration are entirely a matter for Hobsons Bay City Council and any suggestion to the contrary is wrong.”
Disbury said the changes were an attempt to “make a joke” of elected officials. “It will severely restrict what I can say… I will be subject to sanctions and my salary will probably be cut,” he said.
Community advocate Gill Gannon feared councilors would be “fooled” by “hot” issues including the redevelopment of the Williamstown Life Saving Club and imminent road closures.
“If you can’t speak, you can’t represent your community,” said Gannon, who is running as the Western Party candidate in the Williamstown seat in the upcoming state election.
On Monday night, Kingston City Council in Melbourne’s south-east adopted changes to its governing rules to extend the chief executive’s power to reject motion notices. Both councils are under the control of the same state-appointed city monitor, John Tanner. There is no allegation of any wrongdoing by Tanner.
Council monitors, appointed by Victorian Local Government Minister Nick Staikos, were deployed to Hobsons Bay in June last year. Although the controllers’ job descriptions were vague and cited the need to improve management, the appointments followed the sacking of former chief executive Aaron van Egmond over allegations of “unacceptable workplace behaviour”.
Australian Services Union it has been said before It had received “complaints about the behavior of some managers” at Hobsons Bay, which raised concerns about mental health.
Van Egmond subsequently resigned in April 2025 and Tanner was appointed two months later. A second monitor, Rebecca McKenzie, was appointed in January. Under the Local Government Act, municipalities are required to cover the costs associated with municipal monitors, which cover their daily fees and expenses.
Council defends proposed media rules AgeHe said councilors still “have the right to express their personal views”. But the draft policy clearly states that council members can only submit comments to the media “with the discretion and approval of the mayor.”
Regarding confidentiality rules, the council argued that publishing internal working documents could “mislead the public” and that briefings should remain a “safe place” for frank discussions with staff. The policy clearly states that any “information” shared at these special sessions (not just physical documents) cannot be released without the chief executive’s permission.
Rachael Dexter is a journalist working for The Age’s City team. Contact her at rachael.dexter@theage.com.au, rachaeldexter@protonmail.com or via Signal at @rachaeldexter.58.Connect with: Facebook or email.
