The public has never been consulted on the draft legislation that will remove 50 councillors from Tasmanian councils. 

In Saturday’s The Mercury, PMAT State Director Sophie Underwood and Tasmanian Conservation Trust Director Peter McGlone ask the question the government can’t answer: how would we even know if this is a good idea?

The Centre for Public Integrity’s “Lawmaking with Integrity” checklist asks three critical questions:

1. Was an exposure draft and explanatory material of proposed legislation released?

2. Was there sufficient time for public input before the Bill was introduced?

3. ⁠Was a marked-up copy of existing legislation showing any proposed amendments released?

The answer to these questions, regarding the Bill to reduce councillor numbers, is NO.

The Bill is now before the Legislative Council. Your voice matters.

We are calling on the Legislative Council to release the Bill for public consultation. If the Government will not commit to that, we are calling on the Legislative Council to vote the Bill down, or remove the contentious changes to councillor numbers entirely.

Please take action now by emailing your Legislative Councillors.