Buck stops with Bonazzi

The US President Harry S. Truman placed a sign on his desk that stated: ‘The Buck Stops Here’. It was a signal that he took responsibility for everything that happened – good and bad – on his watch.

The same rule applies for Livia Bonazzi who is paid at least $270,000 a year ($5192 a week) to be the Chief Executive Officer of Murrindindi Shire Council.

Last Friday, Ms Bonazzi wrote and circulated an email indicatiing her personal opinion that The Local Paper, the biggest and best- read community newspaper in the municipality was not reputable.

She said that she based her assertion that The Local Paper published already-available information about the Melbourne suburb in which a new out-of-town Council executive lived. That’s EXACTLY what a good local newspaper should do: inform its readership of Council executives, for readers ro decide if they have a 24/7 interest in the area, or are here simply for the pay packet.

Ms Bonazzi appears upset that The Local Paper re-published information about executives and Councillors from the Council’s Register of Interests. She calls that disreputable. The Register details are already on Council’s website. The Local Paper re-published them. That’s EXACTLY what a good local newspaper should do: inform its readers what pecuniary interests that the decision makers have.

In Ms Bonazzi’s world, she states The Local Paper should have sought permission to print these facts. That may apply in other parts of the world, Ms Bonazzi, but is not how things work in modern-day Australia. You work for the citizens, not the other way around. It is sad that you need this reminder.

Ms Bonazzi and her team have sought to penalise The Local Paper financially by removing the Council’s paid advertising. That totals less than $25,000 per year.

We’re not sure who is advising Ms Bonazzi on media strategy, but she can be assured that antagonising the largest media outlet in the municipality by silly name-calling, insulting its Publisher, removing information to the public, is not the way to go.

In our 50+ years of award-winning civic reporting, EVERY CEO has come and gone, EVERY Councillor has come and gone.

The Local Paper re-commits to applying its energy to the scrutiny of the Council of this public agency, its CEO, its decision makers, and its Councillors. That’s EXACTLY the role of reputable Public Interest Journalism.