Local Government Victoria

The resignation of a director at Whittlesea Council has led to the councils executive leadership team consisting solely of interim staff. Community services director Russell Hopkins stepped down last week, less than a month after the Victorian government appointed Yehudi Blacher as an independent monitor to oversee the council.

The Victorian government plans to bring in a state-wide code of conduct for councillors as well as mandatory training for council election candidates. The Local Government Bill 2019 was introduced into parliament last week with a range of reforms for the state’s 79 councils, with a focus on transparency and democracy.

The Victorian Ombudsman has told councils to stop downplaying the number of complaints they receive.