Board Meeting:
28-29 May 2012
Agenda Number:
11 (i)
File Reference:
OR0039
LORD HOWE ISLAND BOARD
Business Paper
Item:
Implementation ICAC Recommendation following September 2011 Visit
Background:
In 2001 Lord Howe Island was the subject of a comprehensive review by the NSW
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) titled “Trouble in Paradise Governance
in Small Communities – Lord Howe Island”.
ICAC subsequently provided detailed recommendations (42 in total), including outstanding
actions from the Public Accounts Committee report, to improve governance on Lord Howe
Island.
Since 2001 the Board and the NSW Government have implemented significant changes to
improve governance on the island including but not limited to:
 Developed Code of Conduct and Pecuniary Interests declarations for public officials
and Code of Meeting Practice for Board and Committee meetings;
 Amendments to the Lord Howe Island Act and Regulation;
 Developed detailed policies and procedures and provided training to staff and Board
members on governance, Internal Reporting & Protected Disclosures;
 Appointed an external Planning Consultant to provide expert independent advice on
development and planning matters; and
 Adopted relevant NSW Government policies and procedures including recruitment
and purchasing.
In September 2011 the ICAC visited Lord Howe Island, on invitation of the Board to meet
with the Board members and conduct training sessions for Board staff and managers.
The Commission stated that it has been aware since its review of the Lord Howe Island
Board in 2001, that the Board's key governance issue is the management of conflicts of
interest. The Commission's recent visit confirmed that, although formal governance
arrangements have improved in the last decade, this issue continues to be problematic at
every level of the Board's operations.
During their visit, Commission officers also provided some practical advice to the Board to
assist in the management of conflicts of interest experienced by Board members and staff.
The commission noted that the advice presented options for the LHIB to consider. The
Commission appreciates that implementing any of them will take resources and that a costbenefit analysis of each will help identify which ones should be a priority.
Comment:
It was agreed at the November 2011 meeting that the Administration should, on a 6 monthly
basis, report to the Board on progress implementing the ICAC advice and ongoing
improvements to governance.
A report, as requested by the Board, is presented in Attachment 1 which includes a
summary of recommendations to be implemented, the priority of each recommendation and
progress on implementation.
The Administration will write to ICAC to inform of recent progress to improve governance.
An updated report will be presented to the Board at the November 2012 meeting.
Recommendations:
That the Board:
1. Note that the information provided;
Prepared By:
Stephen Wills
Chief Executive Officer
ICAC September 2011 Visit – Implementation Summary
Conflicts of interest
Priority
Action
Proposed
Implementation
Date
Board Meeting
March 2012
Provide induction to new Board to support Board members in their role
and to improve governance standards. Induction to include:
 Assist in setting boundaries around what they will and will not
discuss in public may personally help Board members,
 clarify what Board business is confidential,
 explain options for managing conflicts of interest
 techniques to avoid apprehended bias in relation to development
approvals under the EP&A Act where Board members should not
make a decision or indicate what their decision will be prior to a
Board meeting.
 It is advisable not to meet informally with applicants, but rather
to conduct scheduled formal meetings.
Provide ongoing program to refresh the Board's familiarity with the
provisions of the LHIB Code of Conduct, particularly the non-pecuniary
interest provisions and declaring and managing conflicts of interest.
High
Formal induction to be
provided to Board
members following
election of new Board or
following appointment of
new Board member.
Medium
Annual review of LHIB
Code of Conduct and non
pecuniary interest
provisions.
Board Meeting
March 2013
Develop and implement creative measures to manage actual and
perceived conflicts of interest and accusations of bias through
transparency, consistency and accountability.
Medium
Ongoing
Develop clear policies to assist the LHIB achieve consistency and
transparency in its decision making. Ongoing review of existing polices to
maintain currency.
High
Ongoing development of
measures conflict of
interest and perceived
bias.
New policies developed
on needs basis.
Board’s Senior
Management Team
reviews policies on 6
monthly basis to identify
policies requiring
review/update or new
policies to be developed.
Status
Completed
March 2012
Governance
Ongoing
Ongoing
May and
November SMT
meetings
Commenced
May 2012
ICAC Implementation Report May 2012
Publish the voting patterns of the Board for each Board vote, in the
Board newsletter, local newspaper or LHIB website, to help reduce the
possibility that actual voting patterns will be misunderstood.
Medium
Minutes of Board
meeting to be displayed
on LHIB website.
Develop a community grants policy to guide decision-making, aid
consistency and avoid allegations of bias in managing requests from
community members and organisations for financial support or for
assistance from the LHIB for infrastructure or other works.
Engaging the community
Medium
Existing policy to be
amended to guide
decision making.
Engage islander staff more fully in the Board's aims, programs and
decisions to improve in the long-term the Islander community's
perception of the Board.
Medium
Develop communication strategy to improve community engagement
and community education to assist Islanders' understanding and
appreciation of the Board's work -One objective being that no
community member could credibly claim not to understand how the
Board operates, why decisions have been made or how to contact the
Board.
Generation of appropriate strategies to engage residents of different
ages, e.g., younger Islanders may respond to communication strategies
using Facebook or Twitter.
Identify and publicise any changes required as a result of NSW
government policy (as opposed to Board discretion), e.g., new OH&S laws
or building standards. Providing such information, as well as information
about how to contact the relevant government agency to make a
complaint, may help direct any complaints to the responsible authority.
Medium
Medium
Website launched
March 2012.
Minutes displayed
on site.
Trial publishing of
voting patterns in
Community
Bulletin June 2012.
July 2012
Commenced
March 2012
Each unit to hold monthly
meetings to improve
communication and
participation in decision
making. Engage staff in
development of annual
budget and operations
plan.
Develop community
communication strategy.
January 2012 and
ongoing.
Commenced
January 2012
April 2012
Completed
April 2012
Investigate use of
Facebook, Twitter, etc.
March 2013
December 2012
Publicise changes through Ongoing
Bulletin and website.
ICAC Implementation Report May 2012
Administration
Implement programs to assist staff to prevent stress and burnout
caused by inappropriate lobbying by the community. Reduces
potential for OH&S and corruption risk.
High
Investigate options to create short term employment contract (eg up
to 3 years) for identified management and regulatory positions.
Medium
Engage external
contractor to assist staff.
Identify specific training
or support programs
offered through OEH.
Obtain advice from
OEH/DPC in relation to
specific employment
arrangements for term
appointments.
March 2012
Commenced
March 2012
Develop Pricing policy.
March 2011
Display Policy on website
March 2012
Develop Pricing Policy
March 2011
Completed
March 2012
Annual review of prices
prior to budget approval.
Annually – March
Completed
March 2012
Annual review of prices
prior to budget approval.
Annually – March
Completed
March 2012
Annual budget
Annually - March
Completed
March 2012
July 2012
September 2012
Fees and charges
The community may be more willing to accept fees and charges if the
High
Board's decision making criteria for all applications is easy to understand
and publicly available, including on the LHIB website and in hard copy
for those without the internet.
The following options may help the LHIB better manage conflicts of Medium
interests, and avoid perceptions of conflicts of interests arising, when
.setting fees and charges:
o
Establish a clear policy and reasoning regarding why the
fee/charge was set at a certain level, i.e., whether the level
is set for cost recovery only, cost recovery and profit,
nominal charge, deterrence etc
o
Obtain advice on fee levels from the Local Government
and Shires Association and/or relevant NSW
Government departments.
o
Survey comparable councils to set an average or establish
fee-setting guidelines.
o
Peg fees to those set by a comparable local council (it
may also be useful to advertise this fact when
explaining new fees)
Completed
March 2011
Completed
March 2012
ICAC Implementation Report May 2012