Everybody appearing at Cessnock Local Court, Friday, December 16 - Daily Telegraph

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Everybody appearing at Cessnock Local Court, Friday, December 16  Daily Telegraph
Everybody appearing at Cessnock Local Court, Friday, December 16 - Daily Telegraph
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The Bali Bonk Ban: Understanding local customs and laws when travelling - ABC News

There was a strong reminder last week of Indonesia's conservative values when new laws were passed banning sex outside marriage and unmarried couples from living together.

At first, it was said those rules would apply to tourists too, but officials have now backflipped to say tourists won't be affected.

Some locals and those in the tourism sector are worried the news laws will still deter people from visiting, especially those who identify as LGBTQI+. Other critics say this new criminal code violates international human rights laws and standards.

Today in The Conversation Hour, do you make sure you know the laws and the cultural and religious practices of the country you're visiting? And do you abide by them?

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Broadcast 13 Dec 202213 Dec 2022Tue 13 Dec 2022 at 12:00am

Bali, Indonesia, Melbourne, Laws, International Law

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The Bali Bonk Ban: Understanding local customs and laws when travelling - ABC News
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Local star makes powerful speech at disability hearing - K rock

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Local star makes powerful speech at disability hearing  K rock
Local star makes powerful speech at disability hearing - K rock
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More cultural events and festivals heading for local streets in NSW in 2023 - The Greek Herald

Another 122 community and not-for-profit groups will be able to host cultural celebrations in their local communities next year thanks to more funding awarded by the NSW Government.

Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said the groups had received a share of more than $1 million through the Stronger Together Festival and Events Grants program to host the events and festivals.

“Local streets right across our state are set to become so much brighter next year, thanks to each of the 122 local events we are funding,” Mr Coure said.

“These events are important for so many reasons; they celebrate our unique diversity, they bring people together and they break down barriers, which fosters greater understanding and respect between people.”

Each of the community groups received grants between $5,000 and $15,000 to host cultural events and festivals between 1 February and 30 June 2023.

Mr Coure said the grants program had been boosted from $500,000 to $1 million thanks to the 2022-23 NSW Budget.

“This year, through the Stronger Together Festivals Grants program, the NSW Liberals and Nationals have funded 283 community organisations with $2,098,329 to host events and festivals in their local areas,” Mr Coure said.

“Each of these events is a reflection of the rich diversity of our communities right across the state.

“This is one of the great things about our diversity here in NSW—you don’t need to travel overseas to experience the colour and vibrancy of other cultures, you can do it right here at home.”

For more information about the Stronger Together Festival and Events Grants program, visit www.multicultural.nsw.gov.au.

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More cultural events and festivals heading for local streets in NSW in 2023 - The Greek Herald
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More cultural events and festivals heading for local streets in 2023 - The Greek Herald

Another 122 community and not-for-profit groups will be able to host cultural celebrations in their local communities next year thanks to more funding awarded by the NSW Government.

Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said the groups had received a share of more than $1 million through the Stronger Together Festival and Events Grants program to host the events and festivals.

“Local streets right across our state are set to become so much brighter next year, thanks to each of the 122 local events we are funding,” Mr Coure said.

“These events are important for so many reasons; they celebrate our unique diversity, they bring people together and they break down barriers, which fosters greater understanding and respect between people.”

Each of the community groups received grants between $5,000 and $15,000 to host cultural events and festivals between 1 February and 30 June 2023.

Mr Coure said the grants program had been boosted from $500,000 to $1 million thanks to the 2022-23 NSW Budget.

“This year, through the Stronger Together Festivals Grants program, the NSW Liberals and Nationals have funded 283 community organisations with $2,098,329 to host events and festivals in their local areas,” Mr Coure said.

“Each of these events is a reflection of the rich diversity of our communities right across the state.

“This is one of the great things about our diversity here in NSW—you don’t need to travel overseas to experience the colour and vibrancy of other cultures, you can do it right here at home.” For more information about the Stronger Together Festival and Events Grants program, visit www.multicultural.nsw.gov.au.

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More cultural events and festivals heading for local streets in 2023 - The Greek Herald
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‘Gamed by councillors’: How gag orders and secret arbitrations are stifling local councils - The Age

Allegations of councillors “gaming the system”, restricting ratepayer questions, fewer council meetings and preventing councillors from talking to the media are making councils more opaque than ever, critics say.

Ratepayers’ unhappiness with municipal leaders reached a flash point on Friday at the City of Yarra, when residents took to the streets outside the Richmond Town Hall and called for the Greens-led council to be sacked after it voted to slash the frequency of council meetings to just one per month.

Residents from the City of Yarra protest the reduction in council meetings on Friday at the Richmond Town Hall.Credit:Eddie Jim

Things were meant to be different. In 2020, in a bid to overhaul local government, the state government introduced the Local Government Act, butcritics claim transparency has worsened.

Residents are increasingly forced to submit questions for council meetings days in advance, and need to submit freedom-of-information (FOI) requests for information that was once freely available.

Local Government Minister Melissa Horne declined to comment on whether council transparency has worsened under the act.

But she did say: “We’re serious about improving culture in local councils and encouraging strong levels of community engagement, public transparency and financial management.”

Reduced public meetings

But at the City of Yarra, meetings will now be held at half the frequency of two years ago. Councillor Stephen Jolly, who failed to have the motion rescinded on Friday, says the move is undemocratic.

“Can you imagine if federal or state parliament unilaterally decided to only sit half the time?” he says.

But with no standard schedule for how often council meetings should be held, Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) president David Clark says the outcry over Yarra’s move is a “storm in a teacup” and reflects the time pressures councillors face.

“Most of those councillors out there are working for, if they’re not working too hard, $30 an hour, if they are working hard doing their job, probably they are getting paid $20 an hour,” he says. “So I don’t blame them at all if they think they can do the business of the council in less time.”

Questions

Restrictions on questions from members of the public to councillors at meetings are now commonplace. A majority of councils require written questions that must be submitted in advance.

First-term councillor Daria Kellander is surprised by the restrictions imposed on councillors and members of the public in Hobsons Bay.

Questions for monthly council meetings have to be submitted 1½ days in advance. And if the resident isn’t at the meeting, the question won’t be read out.

“It’s almost like it is scripted in advance,” Kellander says. “As a councillor, I want to know what a resident thinks, whether it is good or bad. It’s a restriction on freedom of speech and freedom of thought.”

Freedom of information

Councils are increasingly requiring FOI requests from members of the public and journalists who wish to access information.

“Many councils still don’t publish committee minutes, council expenses and copies of reports the community would want to see,” says Dean Hurlston, head of Ratepayers Victoria. “This has resulted in an absolute mind-blowing amount of FOIs and councils hiding behind this system to avoid disclosure.”

Last year, councils across Victoria received 1482 non-personal FOI requests and 390 personal requests, according to analysis by The Sunday Age of the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner’s annual report.

Of these requests 550 were granted, 665 were partially granted and 103 were denied.

Lengthy delays in providing information are frequent, with the City of Melbourne still working on its reply to an FOI request made by The Age in February.

“It’s just a dog’s breakfast,” Hurlston says.

Codes of conduct

Councillors are increasingly gagged by councillor codes of conduct – the most extreme versions prevent councillors from saying anything that brings a council into disrepute.

City of Hume councillor Jodi Jackson says there needs to be one simple-to-understand code of conduct across councils. “At present each council can write its own code and some of those can be unnecessarily onerous,” she says.

City of Hume councillor Jodi Jackson warns councillor codes of conduct can be too onerous.Credit:Joe Armao

Hurlston says councillors are stopped from raising criticisms of council, which is their job.

“The definition of bringing council into disrepute is terrible,” he says. “It stifles political debate and each councillor’s right to freedom of political expression and opinion. The entire system is being gamed by councillors to hatchet-job each other.”

Horne declined to comment on the use of gag clauses on councillors, and says the legislation sets out a “clear framework” for the management of councillor conduct issues.

“All councillors are expected to abide by the standards of conduct under the Local Government Act and to uphold a standard of behaviour that their community expects and deserves,” she says.

Local Government Minister Melissa Horne says the legislation sets out a “clear framework” for the management of councillor conduct issues.Credit:Joe Armao

Councils are increasingly using arbitration hearings to solve minor issues and disputes between councillors.

At the City of Hume, just one council conduct matter has cost ratepayers $76,080 so far, with the matter still not resolved.

Ratepayers Victoria wants the government to open all hearings to the public, and Clark says the MAV is in “active discussions” with Horne about fixing the system.

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‘Gamed by councillors’: How gag orders and secret arbitrations are stifling local councils - The Age
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Monash Council gives local sports clubs ultimatum over pokies sponsorships - The Age

The City of Monash has threatened to remove local sports clubs from their ovals and clubhouses unless they stop promoting sponsorships with gaming venues, including RSLs, as it cracks down on gambling.

Sports clubs will also be barred from council-owned grounds if they hold meetings at any venue with poker machines.

The policy will affect about one-quarter of the 98 sports clubs in the council area, which takes in suburbs including Ashwood, Burwood, Chadstone, Clayton, Glen Waverley, Mulgrave and Oakleigh.

Council-owned grounds including Jack Edwards Reserve at Oakleigh will not be permitted to advertise gaming companies or venues with poker machines, even if they sponsor local sports clubs.Credit:Wayne Hawkins

The council has written to sporting clubs, groups and community organisations that use its facilities to explain its new Public Health Approach to Gambling Harm Policy.

It will not ban pokies venues – including local hotels, pubs and RSL clubs– from funding local sporting groups. But the sports clubs will be barred from promoting or advertising those sponsors in their clubrooms, in newsletters, and on fields and scoreboards.

The council, which will make an exception for RSLs on Anzac Day, has given sports clubs up to four years to change their uniforms and apparel.

Venues with poker machines in the Monash area, including Mulgrave Country Club, Leighoak Club, and Vegas at Waverley Gardens, give at least 8.33 per cent of their net electronic gaming machine revenue to sports clubs and community organisations each year.

In 2020/21, pokies venues in the area donated $2.2 million to sporting clubs and community groups and $5 million for operating costs and capital improvements.

Community Clubs Victoria, the peak body for local clubs, declined to comment. But a source said it was seeking legal advice on potential restraint-of-trade issues and was consulting all affected clubs.

One club official, who declined to be named because it might affect relationships with the council, told The Age the policy could have a big impact.

“In community support to junior sporting clubs, recognised charities, community groups and other worthwhile community-based organisations that really struggle, it mounts up to hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the official said.

The council’s move comes after data revealed gamblers lost $84.9 million on poker machines in the Monash area last financial year, despite venues being shut for 89 days due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Before this, an average of $110 million was lost annually.

Monash has ranked in the top 10 local government areas in Victoria for electronic gambling machine losses.

Monash Council will crack down on the promotion of gaming venues.Credit:Edwina Pickles

Mayor Tina Samardzija said Monash Council, a founding member of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, and other local councils wanted to stop the harm gambling caused.

“Preventing gambling harm is not just the responsibility of a few. Council plays a direct role in preventing gambling harm and has a proud history as a leading change agent for reducing gambling harm in our community,” Samardzija said.

The council will also press for regulatory reform including shutting gaming rooms between midnight and 10am, maximum $1 bet limits on poker machines and the elimination of sports-betting advertising.

It will also stage workshops to support clubs, groups and organisations identifying other fundraising strategies.

In 2019 Brimbank introduced a policy to charge clubs that operate poker machines on council land full commercial rates instead of peppercorn rents after the municipality lost a state-topping $139.5 million to the pokies in the previous financial year.

Darebin cut support for clubs that rely on gaming revenue and banned groups that operate a gambling venue from using council property, including sports grounds.

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Monash Council gives local sports clubs ultimatum over pokies sponsorships - The Age
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