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SECRECY IN
COUNCIL
Move For Open
Door Policy
N.S.W.'s IXAMPLE
A growing body of public opinion, which
believes that the sedrecy with which the
Adelaide City Council's business is tran.,
acted in committee, should end, is influene
ing members sef'iou~sly to consider a
change. A move for a vote on an opeir
door policy may be made at- an early
date.
There are three schools of thought a&t
present. They are:
Those who desire that committee mee
ings, like full council meetings,.-shouid
be open to the press and. the public, or
at least the press.
Those who.would be preparedto admit
the press to committee meetings, but
exercise a rigid censorship of the items
to be iublished.
Those' who believe that committees
should release for publication a sum
mary of proceedings at the -termination
of a meeting.
Wmhile sponsors of the move for-oped
meetings are-gratified that 'a section of
the members now seems to be more favor
able to a change of policy than was the
case some months ago, they do not feel
that they will. have accomplished a great
deal if the second or third alternative is
adopted. Yet they feel that it may be
necessary to adopt the second alternatike
as a stepping stone to the first.
"NOTHING TO HIDE"
Cr. Grundy is strongly in favor of the
open door policy. "I have never been
associated with a more hondrable body of
men," he said today. "The council has
nothing to hide. Everything is above
board."
But Cr. Grundy, like. others, believes
that if more light were thrown on the
work of committees and the council gene
rally, the public, particularly ratepayers,
would have greater confidence in a body
which is handling matters of vital con
cern to them.
Cr. Grundy cites the Sydney City-Coun
cil's experience. in support of his conten
tion that no harm can come of admitting
the press. The procedure in Sydney is
that copies of all reports to be submitted
at _a meeting of a committee are circulated
to the aldermnien 48 hours before _uch
meeting, and are treated as confidential
documents.
This gives ample notice of the business
to be dealt with. At the committee meet
ing at which representatives of the press,
but not the public, are admitted, each re
presentative is handed a copy of the docu
ments which each alderman. has already
received.
CONFIDENCE 'RESPECTED
In a letter to Cr. Grundy' confirming
these points. the town clerk of Sydney
(Mr. Roy Hendy), who was interviewed
on the subject last month by Cr. Grundy,
says:
"It has been found in practice that if a
matter under discussion is of a confiden
tial nature, a request to representatives of
the press by either the chairman of the
committee or the town clerk invariably
meets with a ready response."
Council meetings in Sydney are open
to both the press and the public. Com
mittee meetings have been open to the
press since the' Sydney City Council was
reinstated two years ago.
..The Adelaide City Council has five per
manent committees. They are:--Realth
works and, highways, :inarkets and: Iparks,
parliamentary and bylaws, and' finaince
The bulk of the business of the cduncil is
transacted by these committees, 'whose
recommendations are placed before the full
council.
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