Once upon a time, in a fairy-tale world, “Democracy” meant something to the people. It was worth fighting for. The sacrifice of those who died in two terrible wars was understood and honoured. Young people were taught to value and respect basic principles, and leaders were elected to serve the community.
Such principles were so ingrained in the leaders’ hearts that there was no need to have rules about conflicts of interest, which could occur if a leader tried to use their power to enrich themselves, because no leader would do that.
In our world, we need very clear rules about conflicts of interest, because some people in power just don’t seem to know them. Hamilton City Council has a Code of Conduct, which includes the following:
- 3.1 Integrity and Honesty
Behaving in accordance with the trust that the public places in them.
- 3.5 Proper use of position
Elected members must not abuse their position, including they must not…benefit their own, or family’s, personal or business interests.
- 5.7 Conflicts of interest
A financial conflict of interest is one where a decision or act of the governing body could reasonably give rise to an expectation of financial gain or loss to an elected member.
Councillor Sarah Thomson made a motion to pay herself an extra $6,000 for childcare, apparently because her basic salary of $91,000 plus extras for her part-time role, set by the Remuneration Authority, was not enough. She voted in favour of the motion.
She also made a motion to amend the eligibility criteria, set by the Remuneration Authority, to include paying family members who looked after the child. She voted in favour of the motion.
Surely, she had a conflict of interest for both motions and both votes?
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