A NEW travel policy to regulate ratepayer-funded trips for Frankston councillors has been adopted.
Frankston councillors are permitted to have overseas and interstate travel paid for if traveling on council business. A new “Councillor Travel Policy” guiding this process was presented to councillors and approved at their most recent ordinary meeting.
The new policy reads that authorised councillor travel must “deliver a clear public benefit and measurable outcomes for the municipality.” It also read that interstate and international travel must be “approved through a transparent council resolution and administered consistently with council policies and frameworks”, and “manage risk, safety, and cost effectively, including Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advisory considerations, insurance, data security, and international roaming controls.”
The policy outlines the procedures for multiple costs incurred during travel, including airfare and accommodation. It also outlines the roles and responsibilities a councillor attending an authorised trip must adhere to.
“When travelling on official council business, councillors represent council collectively,” the new policy reads. “The mayor and councillors must not purport to negotiate or enter into any agreement, contract, MOU, or purport to make binding any commitment on behalf of council; offer or accept any gifts or benefits inconsistent with the Councillor Gift Policy, Councillor Offering of Gifts and Donations Protocol, Conflict of Interest Policy or Model Councillor Code of Conduct; and direct staff of any other government or entity, or purport to commit council resources beyond what has been endorsed by council.”
The new policy restricts accompanying persons on councillor trips from attending scheduled meetings, although it does allow them to attend ceremonial functions. Cr Kris Bolam moved an alternate proposal to “direct the CEO to update the proposed Councillor Travel Policy to permit a councillor’s partner or family member to accompany them when attending officially scheduled meetings during council endorsed interstate and international travel”.
Cr Bolam’s alternate policy would also allow for the reimbursement of baggage expenses for councillors “if they are carrying council endorsed gifts or gifts received on behalf of council”, and would “permit a councillor to be eligible to be reimbursed for any accommodation expenses incurred when booking ahead of any interstate and international travel”. The alternate was not supported by other councillors.
Cr Michael O’Reilly, a consistent critic of ratepayer-funded councillor travel, said “we are a local council. We are not international diplomacy or the foreign minister. I absolutely do not support, and will not support in future, any councillor ever taking any interstate trip – and I certainly won’t be supporting their partners going with them – paid for by our ratepayers.” Cr Bolam said “I’m not proposing that we pay outright for council partners or family. What I’m saying is there needs to be basic respect and professional flexibility in this policy.”
During debate, Cr Bolam clashed with the mayor over council’s existing expense and reimbursement procedures. Cr Bolam argued that “to ensure robust governance, the proposed policy, which governs interstate and international travel logistics, must be structurally aligned with the councillor expenses policy that was unanimously adopted on June 23, 2025.”
Cr Baker argued against Cr Bolam’s alternate proposal, saying “it is not, in my view, best practice or even ethical to be reimbursed for accommodation when you have not yet taken up that accommodation”.
First published in the Frankston Times – 9 June 2025