If you only glanced at Kiama Council’s latest meeting agenda, you might have skimmed over Item 12.1. on page 47 . The minutes of the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee, held on 7 July, probably looked routine. Risk workshops, compliance updates, child safety standards.
But tucked away in the middle of that list was something revealing.
The CEO explained the “impact of recent media issues on psychosocial work safety.” The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are recorded as working with the governance coordinator to “protect the reputation of KMC and the public official,” with the possibility of reporting the matter to the Australian Press Council.
The imbalance
On paper, that might sound responsible, Council taking steps to manage reputational risk and protect staff. But what struck me was what wasn’t there.
There was no recognition of the impact Council’s own actions can have on community members. No mention of what it means for people who receive legal threats, takedown demands, or public criticism. No space given to the reputational harm inflicted on those who step forward in good faith to question or to challenge.
It reads as one-sided: staff and officials are protected, the community is invisible.
Why it matters
Transparency and public confidence depend on balance. If reputational risk is recorded only as something that happens to Council, trust begins to erode.
Protecting Council while ignoring the community isn’t balance. It isn’t accountability. It’s bureaucracy.
And here’s the irony: the simplest way for Council to reduce reputational risk is not through defensive manoeuvres, but by showing integrity, taking responsibility, and listening to the people it serves.
This is what Item 12.1 really points to. Not the details of risk frameworks or workshops, but a bigger question: does Council see reputational risk as a shared issue, or only as a shield for itself?
Until the answer changes, the imbalance remains.
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