Councillors need to engage with local stakeholders to ensure sound governance and to maintain current understanding of issues and concerns facing the local community. Local governments are also required to develop 10-year community plans.

Each local government must also have a community engagement policy outlining how the council will engage with the community in ways that are consistent with the five principles of the Local Government Act 2009.

One of the underpinning principles of the Act is for councils to demonstrate a commitment to democratic representation, social inclusion and meaningful community engagement.

Through community engagement, local council decisions will incorporate the views and perspectives of stakeholders in the implementation of policy, programs and services. Ultimately, wise community engagement will result in more informed and collaborative decision-making and better outcomes for the local community.

The Queensland Government has identified the following five engagement principles:

• Inclusiveness - connecting with those hardest to reach
• Reaching out - changing the ways government and community work together for the better
• Mutual respect - listening, understanding and acting on experiences different from our own
• Integrity - engagement as a means of promoting integrity in the democratic process of government
• Affirming diversity - changing the processes of government to incorporate diverse values and interests.

As leaders in the community, councillors should be strong advocates for community engagement, which can be achieved through:

• development of a broad and inclusive community engagement policy
• development of sound community and corporate plans which identify issues and stakeholders
• identification and incorporation of diverse views in planning processes
• assessment of new methods and ideas to solve problems
• timely provision of information and education
• a collaborative approach to addressing issues and concerns
• community consultation and feedback via meetings and forums.

Whether formal or informal, ongoing engagement promotes a genuinely collaborative approach to dealing with issues, opinions and ideas, resulting in overall satisfaction with the performance of local government.

Legislation extracts

• Local Government Act 2009 - s4 Local government principles underpin this Act

   

  4 Local government principles underpin this Act: (2) The local government principles are— (a) transparent and effective processes, and decision-making in the public interest; and (b) sustainable development and management of assets and infrastructure, and delivery of effective services; and (c) democratic representation, social inclusion and meaningful community engagement; and (d) good governance of, and by, local government; and (e) ethical and legal behaviour of councillors and local government employees.

• Local Government (Finance, Plans and Reporting) Regulation 2010 - s130 Community engagement policy

   

  130 Community engagement policy (1) A local government must prepare and adopt a policy (a community engagement policy) describing how the local government engages with the community about— (a) preparing, reviewing and changing its long-term community plan; and (b) any other matters mentioned in the policy relevant to establishing or reviewing the performance of its system of financial management. (2) The local government may, by resolution, change the community engagement policy.