Code of Conduct for public officials - Comments are welcome

Code of Conduct for public officials

Selflessness
You have a duty to make decisions in the public interest. You must not act in order to gain financial or other benefits for yourself, your family, friends or business interests. This means making decisions because they benefit the public, not because they benefit the decision maker.
Impartiality You should make decisions on merit and in accordance with your statutory obligations when carrying out public business. This includes the making of appointments, awarding of contracts or recommending individuals for rewards or benefits. This means fairness to all;
impartial assessment; merit selection in recruitment and in purchase and sale of Council’s resources; considering only relevant matters.
Accountability You are accountable to the public for your decisions and actions and should consider issues on their merits, taking into account the views of others. This means recording reasons for decisions; submitting to scrutiny; keeping proper records; establishing audit trails.
Openness You have a duty to be as open as possible about your decisions and actions, giving reasons for decisions and restricting information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.
This means recording, giving and revealing reasons for decisions; revealing other avenues available to the client or business; when authorized, offering all information; communicating clearly.
Honesty You have a duty to act honestly. You must declare any private interests relating to your public duties and take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in such a way that protects the public interest. This means obeying the law; following the letter and spirit of policies and procedures; observing this Code; fully disclosing actual or potential conflict of interests and exercising any conferred power strictly for the purpose for which the power was conferred.
Respect You must treat others with respect at all times. This means not using derogatory terms towards others, observing the rights of other people, treating people with courtesy and recognizing the different roles others play in local government decision making.
5 GUIDE TO ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
5.1 If you are unsure about the ethical issues around an action or decision you are about to take, you should consider these eight points:
· Is the decision or conduct lawful?
· Is the decision or conduct consistent with Council’s policies and with Council’s objectives and this Code?
· What will the outcome be for the Mayor, the Council, persons with whom you are associated and any other parties?
· Do these outcomes raise a conflict of interest or lead to private gain or loss at
public expense?
· Can the decision or conduct be justified in terms of the public interest and would it withstand public scrutiny?
· How would my personal integrity be affected by the action?
· How would I react if someone else carried out the same action?
· Would I feel comfortable if my actions became generally known?
Conflict of interests
5.2 If you are unsure as to whether or not you have a conflict of interests in relation to a matter, you should consider these six points:
· Do you have a personal interest in a matter you are officially involved with?
· Is it likely you could be influenced by a personal interest in carrying out your
public duty?
· Would a reasonable person believe you could be so influenced?
· What would be the public perception of whether or not you have a conflict of
interests?
· Do your personal interests conflict with your official role?
· What steps do you need to take, and that a reasonable person would expect you to take, to appropriately manage any conflict of interests?
Seeking advice
5.4 If you are uncertain about an action or decision, you may need to seek advice from other people. This includes the Mayor, the General Manager, a Director of one of Council’s Divisions, the Manager, Administrative Services, the Department of Local Government, the Ombudsman’s Office and the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Independent Commission Against Corruption 8281 5999
NSW Ombudsman 9286 1000
NSW Department of Local Government 4428 4100
PART 2 - STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
This Part of the Code sets out the conduct obligations required of Mayors. These are the enforceable standards of conduct.
Failure by a Mayor to comply with this Part of the Code constitutes misbehavior and may constitute a substantial breach for the purposes of section 9 of the ICAC Act 1988.
The Local Government Act 1993 provides for suspension of Mayors from civic office for up to six months for proven misbehavior. For further information on misbehavior refer to Sections 11 and 12 of this Code.
6 GENERAL CONDUCT OBLIGATIONS
General conduct
6.1 You must not conduct yourself in carrying out your functions in a manner that is likely to bring Council or holders of civic office into disrepute. Specifically, you must not act in a way that:
· contravenes the Act, associated regulations, Council’s relevant administrative
requirements and policies
· is detrimental to the pursuit of the charter of Council
· is improper or unethical
· is an abuse of power or otherwise amounts to misconduct
· causes, comprises or involves intimidation, harassment or verbal abuse
· causes, comprises or involves discrimination, disadvantage or adverse treatment in relation to employment
· causes, comprises or involves prejudice in the provision of a service to the
community. (Schedule 6A of the Act)
6.2 You must act lawfully, honestly and exercise a reasonable degree of care and diligence in carrying out your functions under the Act or any other Act. (Section 439 of the Act)
6.3 You must treat others with respect at all times.
6.4 Where you are a Mayor and have been found in breach of this Code, you must comply with any Council resolution requiring you to take action as a result of that breach.
Fairness and equity
6.5 You must consider issues consistently, promptly and fairly. You must deal with matters in accordance with established procedures, in a non-discriminatory manner.
6.6 You must take all relevant facts known to you, or that you should be reasonably aware of, into consideration and have regard to the particular merits of each case.
You must not take irrelevant matters or circumstances into consideration when making decisions.
Harassment and discrimination
6.7 You must not harass, discriminate against, or support others who harass and discriminate against colleagues or members of the public. This includes, but is not limited to harassment and discrimination on the grounds of sex, pregnancy, age, race, responsibilities as a public official, marital status, disability, homosexuality, transgender grounds or if a person has an infectious disease.
Development decisions
6.8 You must ensure that development decisions are properly made and that parties involved in the development process are dealt with fairly. You must avoid any occasion for suspicion of improper conduct in the development assessment process.
This includes during site visits.
6.9 In determining development applications, you must ensure that no action, statement or communication between yourself and applicants or objectors conveys any suggestion of willingness to provide improper concessions or preferential treatment.
6.10 Mayor and public officials who attend site visits should be mindful of:
· not creating a perception, in the absence of independent witnesses, that you
may provide preferential treatment to the applicant or objector
· not creating a perception of lack of fairness to an objector if you are only
meeting with and obtaining information from the applicant; or a lack of fairness to an applicant if you are only meeting with and obtaining information from an objector; and
· not basing your decisions about a development on information you obtain on a visit which is not also made available to other Mayors and the relevant
Council staff.
Public comment
6.14 You must understand and comply with Council’s Media Liaison Policy.
6.15 You should be clear about whether or not you are acting on Council’s behalf and/or in your public capacity when speaking publicly or attending functions to avoid situations - where this might be directly implied or inferred.