Print Version PDFConsultation and Engagement
The benefits of consulting with you
community
Good consultation requires that processes be in
place to give citizens the opportunity to express their opinions and provide
information to inform the decision makers, prior to the decision being taken.
Consultation does not mean that local government is
bound to follow the majority position on an issue. Local government is not
government by referendum. Rather, good consultation means that the council
knows and understands the range of community opinions about a particular issue,
and can use this information to inform its decision.
There are costs – in both time and resources – to
consultation. These costs should be identified and taken into account in
decision-making, policy development and project planning processes. Less
obvious – but equally important – are the costs which can arise out of not consulting.
That is, the time and resources required to undo a decision that proves
impossible to implement because consultation has not been carried out.
A local government should consult and engage its
community and, in doing so, reflect the aspirations of that community. However,
there are also occasions when a local government needs to demonstrate community
leadership. This may arise because of information that has been available to
the local government, or stem from a council’s perception of its role as a
government elected to govern, or from its understanding of it’s community built
upon by considered consultation and engagement processes.
