Georges River Council calls on candidates for election to sign Pledge of Respect

Georges River Council

At the 26 July 2021 Council Meeting, Georges River Council unanimously adopted a motion calling on all candidates for the upcoming local government elections to take a Pledge of Respect.

As a candidate I pledge to:

Be respectful to other candidates, Council staff and community members;
Where I observe disrespectful behaviour, I will call it out;
Adhere to Council’s Code of Conduct as a sign of good faith; and
If elected, I will continue to model respect.

Council has provided an online public register, enabling the community to ascertain which candidates have registered their Pledge of Respect.

The motion and the Pledge align with Council’s Code of Conduct, which encourages positive, respectful behaviour from all candidates for the upcoming elections and thereafter.

Councillor Sandy Grekas said, “All candidates should show their fitness for office by not only pledging to be respectful but pledging to abide by Council’s code of conduct – the very code of conduct they will be bound by, if elected.

“The upcoming election should be a contest of ideas. It’s an opportunity to put forth your vision for our community and to persuade voters your vision is worthy of their vote.

“At the last election I witnessed disrespect and I called it out. I intend to do so again with this upcoming election, and I hope others will do the same.”

The motion is consistent with the Australian Local Government Women’s Association’s (ALGWA) position of supporting women’s participation in local government and protecting the interests and rights of women in local government.

The motion also recognises Local Government NSW’s (LGNSW) Model Code of Conduct which states, as a minimum, that Council officials are expected to treat others with respect and not harass or discriminate against them, or support others who do so. It supports LGNSW’s position of driving positive reform in local government to ensure councils can continue meeting the needs of their communities.

Georges River Mayor Kevin Greene agreed with Councillor Grekas’ comments and said, “By making a public commitment to this Pledge of Respect, candidates will show our Georges River community that we are modelling best-practice behaviour for not only public officials, but the wider community as well.”

The NSW local government elections will be held on 4 December 2021, postponed from September, in response to the recent outbreak of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus.

/Public Release. View in full here.