New mandatory code of conduct rejected by Albany councillors over nuances of publishing ‘factual’ material

Albany council have dismissed a policy governing councillors’ code of conduct after some expressed concerns that a clause asking members to only share factual information was a “mechanism for silencing dissent”. City of Albany councillors were asked to approve an amended version of the model code of conduct, behavioural breach determination pathway and complaints framework at its meeting on March 24. All WA local governments must adopt the policy by March 31, following the 2026 reforms to the Local Government Act 1995. Council rejected the policy 5-4, with Crs Tom Brough, Robert Sutton, Mario Lionetti, Craig McKinley and Ian Clarke voting against it. Among governing acceptable behaviour for elected officials — such as acting with personal integrity, treating others with respect, and maintaining accountability for their decisions — the cohort of policies includes the process for dealing with complaints and breaches. Cr Brough said that while he doesn’t dispute the need for a code, he is concerned by some of the content of which the city has “no discretion to water down”. “And for that reason, the State Government gets an ‘eat my shorts’ from me’,” he said. He took particular issue with clause eight 1B, which requires council members to only publish material that is factually correct. “You’ve heard all this before, but I need to say it again — no qualification, not reasonably believed to be true, no good faith exception, an absolute obligation covering every social media post, every newsletter, every public statement made in an elected capacity,” he said. “Politics involves contested facts. Policy involves judgement calls on incomplete information. “Advocacy involves making arguments that other people disagree with, including I know, arguments about matters where there is genuine and reasonable public disagreement about what the facts actually are. “A provision that exposes a councillor to a behavioural complaint anytime someone disputes the accuracy of something published is not a government safeguard. “It is a mechanism for silencing dissent and fostering groupthink.” The same clause is included in the code of conduct adopted by council in July of 2025. According to the report papers, the changes between the current and updated code does not include any adjustments to the behavioural standards themselves. Updates relate rather to the “governance, compliance and accountability arrangements” to reflect the updated authority of complaint management, the role of the local government inspector and other legislative changes. Concerns about “who determines truth” were also raised by Cr Sutton. Cr Rebecca Stephens said while she agreed with the nuances of the dissenters concerns and the fact it was being enforced on council, the code promoted “certain standards that we want to leave within our community”. “I wholeheartedly like the different opinions of people that sit around this chamber,” she said. “I think it makes it a robust council, and I have the respect for all of you sitting here, and I do absolutely value the different opinions and debate. “But I do believe there is a code of conduct with respect, with non-prejudice, with non-racism, and all of those other comments that you can make, that we should all sign up to as a group and as a team to make sure that we deliver the best we can for the City of Albany.” City chief executive Andrew Sharpe confirmed that despite it not being approved by council, the code would come into effect anyway.