Why do the people of Victoria have to have another in-house panel, like a two-person Council Conduct Panel?

It won't make one scrap of difference to what is happening now when councillors breach the Local Government Act - the Minister for Local Government, Richard Wynne, just sweeps it under the carpet, as the saying goes, because it is only heard in-house and not by an independent arbitrator, which is the only way to try and stop any corruption.

This new amendment recommends that the Municipal Association of Victoria, which is controlled by all the councils of Victoria, will pick a list of people for selection for the two-person panel, to be picked by the Minister for Local Government, Richard Wynne.

If the breach of the code of conduct is deemed serious enough by the two-person panel, they can refer the breach of the code to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which is only another arm of the State Government.

How can we, the people of Victoria, trust decisions made by VCAT? Look what happened when they overturned the decision of Casey Council, and let a developer build all those houses next to a tip, and a lot of the home-owners had to move out because of the gas build-up in the old tip.

Shouldn't VCAT have the so-called expertise on their panels to make a correct decision on a matter like this, because the build-up of gases at tip sites has been common knowledge for many years?

Why can't we, the people of Victoria, have the same as NSW - the ICAC, which is completely independent of the NSW State Government - and make completely independent decisions with no interference from government. They also have the power to recommend action to be taken in each case.

This is the only way we can have any corruption stamped out in this state of Victoria, with an independent arbitrator, but it seems this government in Victoria does not want anything illegal exposed, or justice done.

FRANK ROACH,

Eaglehawk