THERE seems to be a belief by some councillors that they are being gagged by internal policy from publicly sharing their views on particular issues.
If this was the case, it would be a sleight on transparency. In a democracy, people want to see their elected representatives debating issues in an open forum. It is healthy for the decision-making process.
The issue is captured in a few words of the council’s media policy: “No elected member or employee shall make any statement to the media on the council’s behalf.”
The same policy states that approaches by media to a councillor must be directed to the council’s media branch. That only applies however, if the query from the media is to ascertain council’s position on a particular matter.
In other words, councillors are free to have an opinion. They are free to share that opinion with you, those who voted them to their current positions.
All too often, councillors are telling us they’re not allowed to comment.
Either those councillors have misinterpreted the policy, or they are using their media branch to shield them from media scrutiny.
Either way, you – the readers of this newspaper and other media outlets – are the ones missing out, for we know it is important to not only know the party line, but also the personal opinions of those who represent you.
This is particularly true of local government.
The job of a media unit is to control the message – as far as possible ensuring the position of council is clearly communicated. Providing everyone understands that to be the case, no problem.
There is a problem however, when councillors feel there will be reprisal for sharing thoughts about issues which impact the people who elected them.
