THE Local Government sector and community members have been invited to have their say on the Local Government Culture Project Discussion Paper.

The Victorian Government commissioned the Local Government Culture Project earlier this year and the paper, released last Friday, will guide discussions about practical methods to improve culture at Victorian councils.

Victorian local government minister, Shaun Leane said while councils do great work for their communities, poor behaviour has tainted the sector and must be properly addressed.

“Victorians deserve the best from their elected representatives, and this is an opportunity for the local government sector to work towards improving the culture of councils across the state so that they can best serve their communities,” he said.

“I invite members of the sector and the community to have their say as part of this project to help strengthen councils and build a sector we can all be proud of.”

Three main themes have been identified for discussion including ‘role, responsibilities and supporting mechanisms,’ ‘councillor journey’ and ‘dispute resolution and resolving conflict’.

The Local Government Culture Project aims to promote a more positive environment at councils, create more representative councils, improve governance, and enhance public trust.

This work has been undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in partnership with eminent academics University of Technology Sydney adjunct professor, Graham Sansom, and Victoria University College of Law and Justice emeritus professor, Anona Armstrong AM.

Feedback on the discussion paper is open until February 28, 2022.

To read the discussion paper and make a submission visit localgovernment.vic.gov.au.