General News
28 July, 2024
You can call me Missus ... but ask first
LODDON Shire councillors and staff could soon be allowed to call address colleagues as Mr, Mrs, Miss or Miss ... if they have prior consent. A move to change governance rules, described by Cr Neil Beattie as sensible, was backed by council on...
LODDON Shire councillors and staff could soon be allowed to call address colleagues as Mr, Mrs, Miss or Miss ... if they have prior consent.
A move to change governance rules, described by Cr Neil Beattie as sensible, was backed by council on Tuesday when Mayor Gavan Holt used his casting vote.
Cr Holt said he believed the change proposed by Cr Dan Straub reflected the majority view of Loddon residents.
Cr Straub said the proposal, now subject to a report for the August council meeting, would strengthen rules adopted last year that required staff to be addressed by their position title.
But Cr Wendy Murphy and Cr Linda Jungwirth opposed the revamp.
Cr Murphy said Cr Straub’s proposal was pedantic. She previous meetings has seen councillors not use the governance rules form of address “and there haven’t been clips behind the areas of anything.” She said council had more important discussions to have.
Cr Jungwirth said the move was backwards and frivolous.
She said council was required to have gender impact assessments of policies and create better and fairer outcomes. She said gender inequality was a driver in ending violence against women.