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Forcing people to sign non-disclosure agreements during community consultation on government projects should be banned and an overreliance on external consultants needs to be urgently addressed, according to the Victorian Legislative Council’s inquiry into community consultation.
The inquiry, which released its final report earlier this month, heard members of community reference groups, council officers and other representatives can be required to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), while some residents affected by infrastructure projects were being forced to sign gag-orders before they could receive solutions to problems created by construction.
Many are barred from revealing they signed NDAs, which the inquiry described as “entirely antithetical to a genuine consultation process”.
“Requiring people to sign an NDA before receiving mitigation measures – like additional vegetation to screen lighting from new structures – is not acceptable and undermines transparent project delivery,” the report stated.
The peak body for Victorian councils, the Municipal Association of Victoria, was found to have been “obstructed” from fulfilling its duties as a statutory body due to officials signing an NDA imposed by the state government.
The inquiry heard “overwhelming evidence” that the state government had not implemented standards set out in its own how-to guide for community consultation, while calling out the use of “glossy, low detail brochures” and unclear maps with vague, incomplete or poor quality information in its report.
The report also criticised an overreliance on external consultants, finding community consultation can “look like ‘box ticking’ and ‘tokenistic’ to the community” without co-ordinated purpose, language and design.
Mont Albert resident Susannah Aumann, said the findings came as no surprise and described her experience of giving feedback on a level crossing removal near her house as “gaslighting” and a waste of time.
Aumann said she had not been opposed to the construction of a rail trench opposite her property, but the lack of firm details on the size, design and how close it would be to the street made her uneasy.
“I remember at one point, I just really begged them, please be honest and upfront with people about what is actually open for feedback and what isn’t,” she said.
“The focus was really more about creating a positive perception of the project, rather than engaging honestly with people about what the impacts of the project were going to be.”
Aumann was so frustrated with her experience she was among more than 100 people and organisations who made recommendations to the inquiry.
Included in the report’s 28 recommendations were banning the use of NDAs except when confidentiality was “genuinely required or requested” by participants, seeking feedback when it can actually be used and requiring external consultants to adhere to the same transparency and accountability requirements as public servants.
In the report’s foreword, Labor MP and inquiry chair Ryan Batchelor said the committee heard that rushed, narrowly framed or poorly communicated engagement can “undermine trust and lead to disengagement”.
He said the practical application of engagement guidelines should be strengthened to ensure this happens early, transparently and with clear purpose.
It comes as the state government seeks additional feedback on draft maps of activity centres in Melbourne, covering building heights, boundaries and other features.
A Victorian opposition analysis of online consultation for the Blackburn activity centre in Melbourne’s east, which compared it to findings from the parliamentary inquiry, described it as “deficient”.
It claimed the use of leading questions and constrained response options were among reasons it “should not be relied upon as meaningful evidence of community input into planning decisions”.
Separately, concerns were raised within Whitehorse Council about consultation, with councillors set to consider a motion which included a call for “genuine” community input in planning decisions on Monday night.
Opposition planning spokesperson David Southwick described community consultation for activity centres as a “complete sham”.
“Under Labor, Victorians have no voice, no choice and decisions about the future of their local community are being forced upon them,” he said.
The Victorian government has six months to respond to the inquiry’s recommendations. A spokesperson said they would respond in due course.
The spokesperson also encouraged the community to get involved in the second round of consultation on draft activity centre plans, saying, “extensive community feedback has helped to shape plans to build more homes close to train and trams”.
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Rachael Ward is a journalist in the City team at The Age. Contact her at rachael.ward@theage.com.auConnect via email.From our partners
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