FRANKSTON councillors have called on candidates for the October elections to voluntarily disclose their interests in a bid to boost transparency.
At the 31 August meeting, councillors voted to encourage election candidates to decline donations from lobbyists, people who have made or are expected to make applications to council, and people involved in the property development, tobacco, or gambling industries.
Candidates have also been called on to publicly disclose donations and gifts within five days of receiving them.
Incumbent councillors asked candidates to declare “the name of any company or other body corporate or unincorporated in which the candidate holds an office as a director or otherwise” and “the name or description of any company or body in which the candidate holds a beneficial interest.”
Frankston Council will write to the local government minister to ask that those measures be introduced as requirements.
Nominations for the 2020 council elections close on 22 September. Voters are expected to receive their ballot packs in the mail in early October.
