AT SCENIC Rim Regional Council’s Ordinary meeting on August 27, amendments were made to their Media Policy.
By amendments, I mean one amendment only – which allows the three new Directors of SRRC to speak to or be quoted in the media.
The policy changes arose following a meeting on June 12 between local media – myself, Wendy Creighton from Fassifern Guardian and Larraine Sathicq from Beaudesert Times – and Council, with Mayor Tom Sharp, CEO David Keenan and two Council officers.
The meeting was requested to discuss how we could better communicate moving forward.
Prior to the meeting our team had major problems getting any response to media enquiries from Council.
It was contrary to the platform of transparency and open government that Mayor Tom Sharp campaigned on, but it appeared to me that the block was with Council administration and due to a culture of fear when dealing with the media.
Admittedly after a change in staff the response times to media enquiries improved.
At the meeting I stated that there is a lack of respect within Council for Council’s own Media team, leading to delays and difficulty getting responses to media enquiries.
This lack of respect reflects Council officers’ views of the media and general public and a desire to not have information shared for the benefit of people in the region.
During the meeting, there were several points that I understood we agreed upon:
Response times for media enquiries (already improved).
The term ‘a Council spokesperson’ would not be used, instead the Mayor, Councillors, the CEO and Directors could speak on behalf of Council.
Interviews – Media organisations can interview Councillors, the CEO and General Managers/Directors about specific matters.
The Mayor and CEO agreed in all Ordinary Council meetings, the names of people speaking and their title would be stated so that media and the gallery know who they are.
The Mayor said the media policy would be reviewed and asked the media representatives present to provide feedback.
I emailed these points and more to everyone present, stating this was my understanding of the outcome of the meeting – it was also my feedback on the media policy.
Not only did I not receive a reply, when I next send a media enquiry, it came back quoting ‘a Council spokesperson’.
When questioned, I was informed this would continue until the media policy changed.
It was not until Cr Kerri Cryer undertook to advocate for these changes to come into effect that anything progressed and I don’t believe this would have happened without her pushing for change.
The step forward into allowing the Directors to speak publicly is an excellent outcome, but it does not go far enough.
My last bugbear is the Council officers in the meetings who appear like ‘Dicky Knee’ used to on Hey Hey It’s Saturday – their little heads appear as they sit, or stand, it’s hard to tell – not only nameless but without even a mention of the position they hold within Council.
“Is this someone who has just walked in off the street?” I sometimes wonder as I watch.
The Councillors and CEO seem to know who they are so I assume they work there.
I’m not asking for their home address and tax file number, but it would be good to know the position they hold within Council at the very least.
For now we will have to be happy with the scrap we have been thrown – it is better than nothing but a long way from open and transparent government.
