"Anything that appears to be fake consultation just undermines the communication," Cr Moloney told The Courier.

"I think that we as a council can keep on improving our transparency. There are plenty of ideas we have ourselves to do that, such as bringing forward new contracts out of confidential business and into the light. And to be a bit more sort of open and transparent in the way we answer people's questions.

"Now, there's things that we know we can do ourselves, but there's no doubt a range of other suggestions that people will have."

The draft policy, which is open for feedback until January 21, will guide the City of Ballarat's approach to engaging with residents and other stakeholders. Council says the policy will "help to make sure your voice is heard when decisions are made."

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Cr Moloney says it's important to make a clear distinction between giving information and making engagement.

"The problem we have in engaging with people, with the community, I think, is sometimes we all make the mistake of confusing the two," he says.

"There are some things the public expect us to get on and do. To me, that is us informing, and giving, providing information to let people know what's happening.

"So for instance: you don't necessarily consult on the timing of roadworks, but you do need to inform people when they're taking place and the disruption around it."

Cr Moloney is passionate about making council decision processes available to groups who miss out on access, such as people working at night and young people.

"There are some very familiar voices who get heard all the time; a select few stakeholder groups, and those who show up to council meetings. That's not possible for most people; people are busy every third Wednesday at seven o'clock in the evening, or don't feel as though Town Hall is a welcoming place. So we need to go where people are, basically, and where the issues are," he says.

"I think that we're in a community, in regional Victoria, where you can smell fake consultation a mile away. And that's the last thing we want. We need to be clear on what we need feedback on, and the breadth of what that feedback is going to cover. When you go into it as a genuine process, then people can be clear on how their ideas will actually influence outcomes."

To view the policy and respond, visit mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au. Copies of the draft policy and survey available at City of Ballarat Customer Service Centre, The Phoenix, 25 Armstrong Street South; library branches at Sebastopol, Wendouree and Ballarat Central.

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