Municipal monitors can be appointed by the Minister for Local Government to councils that may have experienced governance issues. Their role is to observe governance processes, provide advice to councils, and report back to the Minister.
Minister for Local Government, Nick Staikos, has renewed the appointments of the monitors - originally set to expire on 31 December 2025 - for a further six months, despite not publicly substantiating any governance failures.
Earlier this month, the Victorian Liberals and Nationals called on the Allan Labor Government to withdraw the monitors and rule out any extensions, warning Labor's continued interference with councils undermined local democracy and added additional costs for ratepayers.
Shadow Minister for Local Government, Bev McArthur, said: "The extension of monitors at the Kingston City Council is Labor's latest attack on local government.
This is now the second time in just ten days that the Labor Government has made a municipal monitors announcement during the Christmas and New Year holiday break; what is Labor trying to hide?
There are no genuine governance failures at Kingston Council: meetings are chaired professionally and governance processes appear clear.
Kingston ratepayers should not be left to pick up the tab for monitors' fees and costs totalling thousands of dollars per working day.
If the Minister wishes to extend the term of these monitors for political reasons, then the government should pay the bill themselves."
