Insights

Long-awaited reforms to Victoria’s Local Government Act 2020 have finally been introduced, bringing changes to mayoral removals, councillor leave, standdowns and CEO employment. But some of Operation Sandon’s biggest reform questions remain untouched.

A missing $1,500 gate turned into a $15.2 million payout. This case is a sharp warning for councils: when predictable behaviour meets overlooked design, liability follows.

Tony Raunic grew up in Ballarat where plain speaking wasn’t a communication strategy — it was simply how people talked. Those instincts have followed him through a career that has spanned local government, community banking boards and now leadership at Hunt & Hunt Lawyers. From council chambers to boardrooms, the former mayor still believes the best advice is the clearest advice — and most mornings he rides into the office to deliver it.