SA’s local government lobby wants to fix the “broken” code of conduct system.

LGA President Lorraine Rosenberg says the Local Government Association of South Australia has developed a proposal to improve the code of conduct for council members, and is now seeking the support of the State Parliament.

“Our members are telling us that the code needs to be strengthened, and greater penalties applied for breaches,” Mayor Rosenberg said.

“Bad behaviour is not systemic in local government – in fact, most councils haven’t had more than a handful of code of conduct complaints in the past four years.”

“However, councils need to have the right tools to deal with isolated issues when they occur.”

“The sector has identified a way forward, but we need the backing of the State Parliament for the solutions we’ve proposed.”

“Code of conduct shouldn’t be a political football, and we want to work collaboratively with all parties towards a better system.”