2019-11-12 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                            12 NOVEMBER 2019


 Voting methodology - remove amendments to the voting methodology for mayoral and single
   councillor elections. The Bill amends the Local Government Electoral Act 2011 (LGEA) to
   mandate full-preferential voting for mayoral and single councillor elections. Amendments will
   remove these provisions of the Bill. However, Hon. Hinchliffe stated that following further
   consideration of the issue and stakeholder feedback, optional-preferential voting will be
   retained.
 Councillor complaints framework - remove provisions in the Bill which would allow the
   independent assessor to investigate the conduct of local government employees in certain
   circumstances. In particular, the Bill makes amendments to the LGA councillor complaints
   framework to streamline investigations under chapter 5A of the LGA by providing that the
   assessor must investigate the conduct of a local government employee if (a) the conduct is
   the subject of a complaint referred to the assessor by the CCC, and (b) the conduct is
   connected to the conduct of a councillor that is the subject of a complaint referred to the
   assessor by the CCC. As such, the Bill had proposed new provisions which would have
   allowed the independent assessor to also investigate the conduct of local government
   employees but these provisions will be omitted.
 Vacancy of office - remove amendments to the penalties applying for the offence of failing to
   give a return under part 6 of the LGEA within the time required and provide that an elected
   councillor’s office becomes vacant if a summary return about gifts, loans and electoral
   expenditure is not given to the Electoral Commission Queensland within specified periods.
 Multi-member divisions - provide that amendments about local government changes for multi-
   member divisions will commence by proclamation rather than on assent. This means the
   provision will commence after the 2020 quadrennial election.
 Major policy decisions during caretaker period - Under the LGA section 90B, a local
   government is prohibited from making a major policy decision during a caretaker period for
   the local government unless the Minister gives approval. The Bill amends the definition of
   ‘major policy decision’ in the LGA to prescribe additional decisions as major policy decisions,
   including decisions under the Planning Act 2016 (Planning Act) on development applications
   that include a variation request or change applications that include a change to a variation
   approval.
   Hon. Hinchliffe stated that it is not intended that a local government should be prohibited from
   making a decision about certain development applications involving variation requests or
   certain change applications involving variation approvals, which are generally consistent with
   the infrastructure arrangements foreseen in the planning scheme or do not commit or extend
   the commitment of the local government in assessing consequential development against
   varied levels of assessment or assessment benchmarks.
   Therefore, the policy objective is achieved by amending the definition of ‘major policy
   decision’ to effectively allow local governments to make decisions under the Planning Act
   about certain development applications involving variation requests or certain change
   applications involving variation approvals that align with this intent or are otherwise minor in
   nature, during a caretaker period.
 Electoral funding and financial disclosure - other amendments to meet the policy objectives of
   the Bill, including: amending the LGEA to provide for the bank statement to be provided with
   the summary expenditure return by candidates and groups under new section 125 and not
   the real-time return under section 124; and clarification of the operation of electoral funding
   and financial disclosure amendments, align with the Electoral Act 1992 (EA) and correct
   minor errors.




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