In Clarence there is a lack of visibility into what Council is actually doing, how priorities are set, and whether promised outcomes are being delivered.

Over this term, there has also been a move towards a shorter, simplified strategic plan.

But all we’re left with is a set of aspirational statements that everyone agrees with but which provide little insight into what is actually planned.

Residents should be able to see the specific actions Council intends to take, the timelines for delivery, the measures of success, and regular reporting on progress. In publicly available, easily to consume information.

I would like to see the publication of the new Term Plan including actions, milestones and progress updates. In January 2026, I asked whether the community will see this new Term Plan including an opportunity for community consultation. For now, the advice was that “many of the operational items removed are already contained within other approved plans that fall under the Strategic Plan.”

The issue is not that Council doesn’t publish information. In fact, Clarence publishes strategic plans, annual plans and quarterly reports. The challenge for residents is following a specific commitment from promise to delivery. If an action appears in one year’s Annual Plan, can residents easily determine whether it was completed, deferred, abandoned or carried forward into the following year?

Take a relatively simple commitment from the 2025-26 Annual Plan: establishing a monthly EDM newsletter. (Strategic Plan 5.4) A resident should be able to quickly determine whether that commitment was delivered, whether it achieved its objectives, and if not, what happened.

Transparency is not simply publishing plans. It is enabling the community to trace commitments through to outcomes.