Local Government (Administration) Regulations 1996 Local Government (Rules of Conduct) Regulations 2007 Defamation Act 2005 For access to published legislation, see the State Law Publisher Council Local Laws (especially Standing Orders) Department’s ‘Preparation of Agenda and Minutes Guide’ Department’s ‘Operational Guidelines’: No 1 Disclosure of Interests Affecting Impartiality No 3 Managing Public Question Time No 5 Council Forums No 6 Disruptive Behaviour by the Public at Council Meetings No 7 Clarity in Council Motions No 20 Disclosure of Financial Interests at Council Meetings (For access to the Department’s Guidelines, see ) 2.2 Abiding by good governance principles of the Act Elected members are required by section 2.29 of the Act and Local Government (Constitution) Regulation 13 (1)(c) to make a declaration of Office to ‘take the office upon myself and will duly, faithfully, honestly, and with integrity, fulfil the duties of the office for the people in the district according to the best of my judgment and ability, and will observe the Local Government (Rules of Conduct) Regulations 2007.’ One of the explicit principles within the Act involves the ethical and legal behaviour of elected members. With respect to conduct, the Act has provisions (sections 5.102A to 5.125 of the Act) for reporting and investigation of these matters. Elected members are also subject to the provisions of the Corruption and Crime Commission Act 2003 and the Defamation Act 2005. The public interest must always take precedence over the private interests of elected members. Private interests include financial and non-financial interests, electoral
Setting aside sufficient time to prepare for the meeting, pursuing additional information and consulting with stakeholders within the community is essential. It is recommended that for ordinary council meetings, members allocate specific preparation time in their diaries once meeting dates have been set. Good time management practices and habits for elected members, such as the following, will assist their meeting preparation: develop a system for filing of the e-mails, agendas, reports, and correspondence received for ease of access, recovery, and regular review for archival or disposal; prioritise what needs to be read, responded to, followed up, and scheduled into the diary; and arrange with the CEO for training in skill development courses, such as speed reading, public speaking, meeting procedure, record keeping or time management. 5.2 Closed council or committee meetings Most council and committee meetings to which a local government power or duty has been delegated, will be open to the public. However section 5.23(2) of the Act states that a local government may resolve that a meeting or part of the meeting be closed to the public, only if its elected members consider it necessary to deal with any of the following reasons: a matter affecting an employee or employees; the personal affairs of any person; a contract entered into, or which may be entered into, by the local government and which relates to a matter to be discussed at the meeting; legal advice obtained, or which may be obtained, by the local government and which relates to a matter to be discussed at the meeting; a matter that if disclosed, would reveal — a trade secret; or information that has a commercial value to a person; or
the language is clear and unambiguous; the terms are plain and non-technical and can be understood by elected members and the public; constructed simply and if necessary, set out in sections that can be clearly identified by letters or numbers; indicate proposed action or reflect agreed views on a particular issue; clearly indicate who is responsible for any action, and if appropriate, expected time of action and outcome, and reporting back requirements; and it is not a re-introduced motion which has already been rejected and would therefore require specific treatment. The following example of an adopted resolution has many of the necessary features: ‘That council resolves that the CEO writes to the State Treasurer to seek long-term funding in the upcoming State budget for regional transport infrastructure investment.’ All reports to Council or a Committee will include a draft recommendation. In most cases this will become the motion which will be put to Council for debate. However, a councillor may choose to move a motion other than the Officer’s recommendation. 8.4 Motion not accepted by the Presiding Member The guiding rule is that no motion should be put or passed unless it is within the scope of the notice of meeting and the agenda (order of business). It is the presiding member’s role to ensure that motions are within the meeting’s jurisdiction. Therefore the presiding member would be expected to rule a motion as out of order if it: is unclear and vague in its language; is the direct negative of a motion just passed by the meeting; is inconsistent with a formal motion just adopted; is unnecessary in that it proposes a course of action or policy already resolved upon by the meeting; proposes an action that is unlawful;