Local Government Reform Western Australia
LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORM
for
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Introduction:
THIS WEBSITE IS PUBLISHED IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST BY THE WA LG REFORM ALLIANCE – AN ALLIANCE OF CONCERNED CITIZENS.
IT IS PUBLISHED FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION.
THIS WEBSITE ACKNOWLEDGES DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF A LIBERAL DEMOCRACY UNDER THE RULE OF LAW.
THE RULE OF LAW REQUIRES GOVERNMENT ENTITIES TO ADMINISTER THE LAW DETERMINED BY PARLIAMENT AND INTERPRETED BY THE COURTS.
IT ACKNOWLEDGES THE LAW DEMANDS THE CORE PURPOSE FOR EXISTENCE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS TO EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY SERVE ITS COMMUNITY AND CONSTITUENTS WITH FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.
IT ACKNOWLEDGES THE LAW REQUIRES LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO ENGAGE WITH ITS COMMUNITY AND CONSTITUENTS AS PARTNERS IN SOCIAL ORDER, ACTIVITIES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
IT DOES NOT ADVOCATE ELIMINATING LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF GOVERNANCE OF THE STATE.
IT FURTHER SUPPLEMENTS A SERIES OF FORMAL SUBMISSONS BY LGREFORMWA ALLIANCE MEMBERS TO SEVERAL OFFICIAL ENQUIRIES INTO LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA OVER A TWENTY YEAR PERIOD.
IT ACKNOWLEDGES THE MINISTER’S DETERMINATIONS THAT THE SYSTEM IS “DYSFUNCTIONAL”.
ITS PURPOSE IS TO DRAW PUBLIC ATTENTION TO DEFICIENCIES AND SHORTCOMINGS IN THE HISTORIC SYSTEM OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, TO EDUCATE AND INFORM ELECTORS AND THE PUBLIC HOW THE SYSTEM IS STRUCTURED, HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS IN PRACTICE, AND TO RECOMMEND IMPROVEMENTS.
COMMENTARY IS BASED UPON THE TERM “GOVERNMENT” MEANING “TO GOVERN” – A TERM NOT DEFINED IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT.
IT ASSERTS GOVERNMENT REQUIRES CLEARLY DEFINED PUBLIC POLICY AS A PRECONDITION FOR DECISIONS AND ACTIONS.
IT ATTEMPTS TO DESCRIBE THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM AS IT HAS BEEN, AS IT IS, AS IT SHOULD BE AND AS IT COULD BE.
AN ANCIENT SYMBOL OF POWER OVER THE LAND AND ITS INHABITANTS
QUESTION: WHAT IS LOCAL GOVERNMENT?
The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law [MPECCoL] explains how local government has evolved into what it is today.
To summarise;
Local government in Western Australia is based on the concept that the central government possesses neither the will nor the means to govern every aspect of every region or locality across this vast state, so contracts selected functions to the local authority appointed by Parliament.
Parliament has created local governments as independent entities who are given free license to rule as they see fit within the scope of those lawful delegated authorities determined by Parliament.
Local governments act for the Crown when authorised in law but not otherwise.
Local government powers may be classed as “omnicompetent” – that is within the limits set out by Imperial law under “The Crown”.
Each local authority is governed by a Council, elected by the eligible inhabitants of the local government district.
Local Government was formally known as “Municipal Government”. Each Municipality is owned by the inhabitants of the local government District
Each local government controls and maintains the public assets of the District it holds in trust for public benefit
Each Council employs administrative officers to administer its policies, decisions, local laws, directions, notices and orders
Like the Barons of old, armed with diverse powers granted by a broad range of Acts of Parliament, local governments maintain a private force of inspectors, compliance officers, “Rangers”, collection agencies, legal counsel, summary justice and the courts to enforce compliance and to prosecute alleged breaches.
Despite local governments operating in a “liberal democracy under the Rule of Law”, public silence is coerced by the use of threats of defamation suits, rejection of questions and requests for information to Councils and their administrations, threats of being classed as “vexatious”, banning individuals from engaging with their local government, and meeting Standing Orders made Local Laws having money penalties for “speaking adversely” about Councillors, Officers and anything they may have done or not done in the course of their duties.
Local governments remind us of their aristocratic roots with display of their unique Coat of Arms, City/Town Flag, Mayoral chain, robes, regalia and accroutrements, awards of office and logos – just in case we might forget.
Just in case we miss the point, local governments continue with the aristocratic titles from old by the use of official titles and forms of address. e.g. The Mayor of a large city must be addressed as “Your Right Honourable The Lord Mayor” or, in other cases, “Your Worship The Mayor”. The term “your worship” means “to respect or hold in high esteem” and was traditionally previously used for Magistrates, (in WA now “Your Honour”) again reinforcing the symbolism of a court. In the case of the political office of “Mayor”, many might disagree with that forced usage. However in the hierarchy of local governments, Shire Presidents are not accorded that form of address by the State. What might that suggest?
Local governments continually remind us of their superiority with pomp, ceremony, contempt for community curiosity into their activities and demand for subservience.
In some local governments, seating arrangements for meetings are arranged to replicate traditional courts with a high bench in a display of pseudo-power and control. The Person Presiding speaks “down” and not “across” to Members of Council, signifying superiority.
Despite electoral equality, Council Chambers are typically arranged so that Councillors do not have an equal relationship with each other – i.e. the seating configuration is not circular.
Despite His Majesty the King of Australia being the source of their legitimacy, independence and power, more often than not the traditional portrait of His Majesty the King is not displayed in Council Chambers, suggesting a display of hubris by Councils in contempt for their Monarch.
In this example we see the City Crest, The City Flag and the Australian Flag, high bench, and Councillors seated subserviently looking upwards with the public gallery behind them – preventing observation of facial expression and degree of engagement by their elected representatives. In this example the WA flag is not displayed at all. It’s all about themselves.
Local governments are “public authorities” in which Councillors and officers are protected from liability for their actions or inactions.
QUESTION: HOW HAS IT EVOLVED?
Local Government is a particular conceptual model for governing a designated community. It has evolved from the aristocratic model that originated centuries ago in Europe.
The system of Kings, Nobles, Dukes, Princes, Barons and Lords ruling over an area of a state or country could be said to be a form of local government.
In the case of the British Empire, which evolved from the 16th century, the mode of governance over its worldwide system of dependencies—colonies, protectorates, and other territories was central control from England. https://www.britannica.com/place/British-Empire/Dominance-and-dominions
This system initially installed a military governor to govern each possession until such time as the local populace demanded a say in their own future. Eventually a form of civilian government would evolve – but always under the dominion of the British Crown and generally under a local Governor.
The Australian experience commenced in 1768 when Captain James Cook was commissioned to sail around the world to discover and claim the “Great South Land” – a potential source of riches to pillage and plunder and a great place to deposit convicts from England’s overflowing gaols. That discovery occurred as planned and Cook claimed the entire east coast of Australia by planting his flag in the name of the King on the beach at Cooktown in Queensland on 17 June 1770. It did not matter that it was already populated by others.
His discovery was followed by the First Fleet, commanded by Captain Arthur Philip, who landed at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788 to found Australia’s first colony of around 1400 people – predominately convicts - just five years after Britain lost its North American colonies in 1783 following the War of Independence.
Three years later, Commander George Vancouver claimed possession of the entire Australian land mass for the Crown when he landed at Albany, Western Australia, on 29 September 1791.
Then on 18 January 1827 Major Edmund Lockyer again formally took possession of the remaining portion of New Holland not yet claimed – that is the portion west of the 129 meridian east and roughly half the Australian continent, completing the process of capturing the Australian land mass for the British Crown without a shot being fired.
To be certain, Captain Charles Fremantle again took possession of the western side of New Holland for the English Crown on 02 May 1829.
The Swan River colony – now Perth - was established in 1829 with Captain James Stirling as Lieutenant Governor. Stirling had sole authority to draft laws and decide day to day affairs. Despite W.A. being populated by free settlers, they saw fit to engage in the occasional battle and genocidal massacre of the local inhabitants to ensure imperial colonial dominance.
On 06 February 1832 the colony was renamed “Western Australia” – a name it retained when it became a State in 1890. That was also the year an unelected Legislative Council was established to assist the Governor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Australian_Legislative_Council
In 1890 Western Australia became a State. That year was momentous because after more than 50 years’ of citizen unrest, both the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly became elected Parliaments.
Western Australia joined with other states to form the Commonwealth Federation in 1901, but in 1933 around 68% of voters changed their minds and decided to seek secession – i.e. leave the Commonwealth. That idea was rejected by the British Parliament in 1933 for obvious reasons.
Since 1829, as villages and towns established grew in population and activities, there became a need for the administration of government at local level to provide community infrastructure, services and order. Various models were tried then abandoned for more than a century until 1960 when Parliament enacted the Local Government Act 1960, effective 01 July 1961. This was the birth of local government as we know it.
137 local governments were created for Western Australia, the number reflecting the diverse locations of its inhabitants.
In summary, since foundation of the Colony of Western Australia from 1929 to 1986 the state was continuously governed by the British Crown.
Despite Australia’s notional independence, the ethos of hierarchical regulation and compliance is hard to shake off.
Regrettably, modern local governments have retained the same siege mentality of the rulers of old and position themselves in a coercive power relationship aloof from their subservient constituents, are difficult to reach and will not communicate outside rigidly controlled environments based on conveying fear and trepidation upon Electors.
It is not unknown for malicious repercussive payback to be inflicted upon dissenters – legally of course.
Their constant fear of their covert acts and errors being discovered causes high walls, artificial barriers and obstacles to be set up to surround their castles and rule over the land and its people.
Avoidance of responsibility and accountability is an art form, supported by legions of foot soldiers in their administrations. Dissent is crushed.
Reaching the inner-sanctum is nearly impossible for mere mortals. To symbolically kowtow cap in hand is mandatory. Allegiance is demanded. Policies, practices, processes and procedures are used as lawful weapons to deflect the curious. Challenge and dissent are crushed.
Local governments have formed alliances with their peers to create a formidable army of common purpose organizations who share intelligence and strategies to defend their status-quo.
If a person manages to overcome all of the obstacles and challenges and reach the inner-sanctum, they may find they are refused audience, or not granted leave to ask questions of their Council or CEO, or their questions and responses not recorded for public dissemination.
Currently, some Councils live stream and video record their meetings. Video recordings are often edited and the edited documented Minutes mirror the edited video record.
The historical record is intentionally false by careful editing and omission.
Consistent with traditional organisational behavior, Councils protect their Members, Councils protect their CEO, CEO’s protect their organization and its employees in a united front to protect each other and their organisation.
QUESTION: HOW IS GOVERNMENT STRUCTURED WITHIN AUSTRALIA?
The current Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia declares:
An Act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia.
WHEREAS the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God, have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and under the Constitution hereby established:
And whereas it is expedient to provide for the admission into the Commonwealth of other Australasian Colonies and possessions of the Queen:
Be it therefore enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Then in 1986 the Australian nation became an independent sovereign state via the Australia Act 1986 and ceased to be a Dominion of the British Empire. See also Dominion
The preamble to the Australia Act 1986 states:
“An Act to bring constitutional arrangements affecting the Commonwealth and the States into conformity with the status of the Commonwealth of Australia as a sovereign, independent and federal nation”
S7 Powers and functions of Her Majesty and Governors in respect of States
(1) Her Majesty’s representative in each State shall be the Governor.
(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) below, all powers and functions of Her Majesty in respect of a State are exercisable only by the Governor of the State.
S8 State laws not subject to disallowance or suspension of operation
An Act of the Parliament of a State that has been assented to by the Governor of the State shall not, after the commencement of this Act, be subject to disallowance by Her Majesty, nor shall its operation be suspended pending the signification of Her Majesty’s pleasure thereon.
To remove doubt, the Western Australia Constitution Act 1899 as amended reiterates the above. S50 and S51 define the Office of Governor.
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia refers to the Crown only as “the Queen”. This has not changed, because Section 2 prescribes:
2 Act to extend to the Queen’s successors
The provisions of this Act referring to the Queen shall extend to Her Majesty’s heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.
However, the constitutional term “The Queen” – originally Queen Victoria - now King Charles III - was retitled Queen of Australia at a level ABOVE the Constitution – i.e. did not require constitutional amendment.
More recently, the Crown References Amendment Act 2024 was assented on 10 December 2024. This Act amends a range of other Acts to substitute the term “sovereign” in place of references to the King or Queen.
An important Act in the amended set is the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. The Parliament could not amend the Australia Act 1986 so used this Act as a substitute.
The executive power of the Commonwealth is now vested in the Sovereign and is exercisable by the Governor-General as his representative. State Governors perform a similar role within their State jurisdiction. Their roles are defined in the Commonwealth Constitution, the Australia Act and the Acts Interpretation Act
In summary, the Australian nation, including its states and territories, remains firmly under the jurisdiction of the Crown, as defined. The order of precedence for those who govern us is enshrined in Commonwealth law.
The History of Parliamentary Democracy in Western Australia is explained here.
The Three Branches of Government in WA Note: Local Government is NOT a Parliament - it is a sub-branch of EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT under the Crown
An index of History publications may be found here
A more detailed explanation is at https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/corporate/protocol-guidelines/1-introduction-to-australia-and-its-system-of-government#1.1
QUESTION: WHEN WAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA?
The enabling constitutional legislation was first created by Parliament by Act. No.88 – 1979 via Sections 52 and 53 - 19 years after “local government” was established in 1960 by the Local Government Act 1960, effective from 01 July 1961.
The purpose and role of local government per-se is generically set out in section 74A of the Constitution Act 1975 (Victoria), which states:
“Local government is a distinct and essential tier of government consisting of democratically elected Councils having the functions and powers that the Parliament considers
are necessary to ensure the peace, order and good government of each municipal district”
The Western Australia definition is a little more vague:
S52 of the Western Australia Constitution Act 1899 (as amended by Act No. 88 of 1979) prescribes:
52. Elected local governing bodies
(1) The Legislature shall maintain a system of local governing bodies elected and constituted in such manner as the Legislature may from time to time provide.
(2) Each elected local governing body shall have such powers as the Legislature may from time to time provide being such powers as the Legislature considers necessary for the better government of the area in respect of which the body is constituted.
In Western Australia, “the local government” may be all or any of Council, CEO, Executive Officers or junior Officers or Contractors granted delegated powers and duties.
QUESTION: HOW DOES IT FIT INTO THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT ?
Local Government is not referenced in the Commonwealth Constitution and several referenda have failed to win public support for it to be recognised.
However from time to time, the Commonwealth provides funding to local governments for specific purposes. Funding is paid either directly or via the relevant state government.
In Australia, The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) is the national voice for local government, representing 537 local governments across the nation. It is a lobby group advocating to government on behalf of its members – not the public.
QUESTION: HOW DOES IT FIT INTO THE STATE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT ?
Each state has its own arrangements relating to local government.
In Western Australia, there are 139 local governments, each with an elected Council and an administrative structure.
QUESTION: HOW IS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTED?
The Western Australia Constitution Act 1899 (as amended by Act No. 88 of 1979) prescribes:
52. Elected local governing bodies
(1) The Legislature shall maintain a system of local governing bodies elected and constituted in such manner as the Legislature may from time to time provide.
(2) Each elected local governing body shall have such powers as the Legislature may from time to time provide being such powers as the Legislature considers necessary for the better government of the area in respect of which the body is constituted.
53. Certain laws not affected
Section 52 does not affect the operation of any law —
(a) prescribing circumstances in which the offices of members of a local governing body shall become and remain vacant; or
(b) providing for the administration of any area of the State —
(i) to which the system maintained under that section does not for the time being extend; or
(ii) when the offices of all the members of the local governing body for that area are vacant; or
(c) limiting or otherwise affecting the operation of a law relating to local government; or
(d) conferring any power relating to Local Government on a person other than a duly constituted local governing body.
S52 is given effect by the Local Government Act 1995 and its set of subsidiary Regulations.
The WA Interpretation Act 1984, the Electoral Act 1907 and the WA Criminal Code apply.
Under the system so created, a local government is an independent contractor to the state government.
The Public Sector Management Act 1994, prescribes at Schedule 1, that:
15 Any local government or regional local government or the council of a local government or regional local government
15A Any regional subsidiary or the governing body
of a regional subsidiary
IS NOT a Public Sector Organisation
Each local government is created as an independent stand-alone statutory body corporate, governed by an elected Council.
The WA Local Government Act 1960 defined local government in similar terms to the Victorian definition quoted above, where the “Council” is the local government.
However the WA Local Government Act 1995 changed that to an entirely different concept.
Under the current system, the Council, representing the body corporate, employs a contractor, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). whose terms of reference, conditions, scope of work and objects are defined in the CEO’s contract with the Council, which is a confidential document not available to the public.
The CEO in turn employs all other administrative staff and contractors to administer the local government’s body corporate and Council’s decisions.
This structure makes the Council the steward for the local government corporation’s physical and financial assets and the CEO an independent contractor under Council’s direction, responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the enterprise and application of the corporation’s human, physical and financial assets
However under authorised powers of delegation, the Council can delegate nearly almost all of its powers and duties and functions to its CEO, who is accountable only to Council. Under this arrangement, the CEO becomes Council and therefore the local government.
Despite this arrangement, the Public have no right to question the CEO directly – even when the CEO stands in the shoes of Council and makes decisions or causes actions on behalf of Council without Council’s knowledge. In the Public arena, the CEO is classed as an “employee” and is therefore subject to the privacy protections, immunities and corporate protections generically provided to employees
The Minister for Local Government is the responsible Minister however, under the terms of the LG Act and the Partnership Agreement with WALGA, local governments are semi-autonomous entities.
As such, local governments have both the power and duty to make policies and subsidiary legislation (local laws and town planning schemes etc) within prescribed limits, “for the better government of the area in respect of which the body is constituted.”
.
This means that for some functions they have no power to vary or add to state legislation so are limited to administering state law and policies.
However for other functions they have free licence to do whatever they want.
The Minister has limited defined powers to monitor and make corrections to the system but cannot over-rule or void a Council decision.
This March 2022 letter to the West Australians Against Corruption in Local Government waaclg@bigpond.com alliance, the Minister confirms this long-held view by local governments.
This means the Minister is not responsible, DLGSC is not responsible, Councils are not responsible and their Officers are not responsible for the decisions and actions of their local government.
In other words, NOBODY is responsible for anything a local government does or does not do because all accountability is collective and born by the Ratepayers – because the inhabitants of a local government District collectively own it.
This letter also reveals the void that exists in accountability regarding matters relating to Acts other than the Local Government Act. It is unclear if Ministers other than the Minister for Local Government can intervene in local government decisions and actions within their portfolio jurisdiction.
The public policy of the Parliament is that to protect and preserve democratic government in a liberal democracy, each elected Council should be responsible and accountable to its own electorate for its decisions and actions.
In practice that is very difficult to implement and has little impact on errant Councils.
This situation has come about because each and every Councillor is self-nominated for election and only about 25% of Electors cast a vote in voluntary elections. It is a very inefficient and ineffective method of control.
Councillors come and go over time but the system remains the same. One term Councillors are typically unequipped for the role because they are unfamiliar with the laws that apply and often do not understand them. A common experience is that prospective Councillors do not attend Council meetings to study learn the system before standing for election.
QUESTION: WHO PAYS FOR IT?
Local governments are funded by a suite of taxes, levies and charges upon their inhabitants, supplemented by Commonwealth and State government grants, donations and bequests
QUESTION: WHAT IS THE STATUS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT?
A local government is a “public authority”.
The Council of a local government sits as a Parliament (legislature) when making Policies for public governance – i.e. the act of governing
The Council of a local government sits as a Parliament (legislature) when making “disallowable legislation”, such as Local Laws, Town Planning Schemes and Codes of Conduct
The Council of a local government sits as an “Executive Decision Making Body” when making internal organisational administrative Policies and administering existing legislation – i.e. making “decisions” under powers granted by legislation
Under present legislation, Councils are not required to differentiate between the above functions, so may perform them in common meetings under the same processes and procedures and Standing Orders/Meeting Procedures
QUESTION: HOW DOES IT WORK?
EXPLANATION:
· Every Person who sets foot in Western Australia is subject to Rule by a Local Government. The only exemption is when a person flies over the top and does not land.
· It is not possible to live through a day without being forced to comply with a local government’s determinations in some way
· There are 139 local governments in Western Australia of which 30 are in the Perth metro area.
· Each local government is constituted as a “public authority” and operates as an agent or representative of the Crown. It is granted free licence to govern within the scope defined by Parliament from time to time.
· Each local government is a stand-alone corporation that is effectively an independent contractor to the Crown, commissioned and constituted to “govern” the community and manage the community’s assets.
· The local government always remains subordinate to the Crown, who owns and controls all public assets – e.g. roads, drains, reserves, bridges, rivers and waterways etc.
· Each local government is governed by an elected Council. Half the Council is refreshed every two years.
· The Council is locked into the policies and strategies and plans of its predecessors, hence new Councillors are impotent and can only sit and watch.
· The elected Council, who notionally governs the corporation, employs an independent sub-contractor employee (the CEO) who independently manages the corporation and its employees and contractors on a day to day basis for and on behalf of the Council.
· The CEO usually operates with delegated statutory powers that equal those of the Council, enabling the CEO to “stand in the shoes” of Council and act as if he or she is Council.
· The standard mode of operation is for the CEO to control information input to the Council and to administer Council’s decisions that are based solely upon that information.
· A local government is required by law to make Policies. The CEO devises the local government’s Policies for government (of the people) and governance (of the Body Corporate) for Council’s ratification. Policies lock a local government in to future constraints so are usually expressed in the broadest terms to assure flexibility – thereby losing their reliability and credibility.
· A local government may make Local Laws (Disallowable Subsidiary Legislation) and Town Planning Schemes that apply to their District, but it is the CEO who devises Local Laws for Council’s ratification. The CEO also prosecutes alleged infringements or non-compliance under any one of the 100 or so Acts of Parliament that empower a local government to both administer and prosecute.
· The CEO therefore becomes public policy maker, legislator, administrator and prosecutor.
· The CEO and the body corporate are accountable only to the Council and typically resist public scrutiny.
· The Council is theoretically responsible and accountable for the performance of their local government, including errors and omissions, but there is no public accountability process because the CEO is classed as an “employee”, accountable only in part to full Council. The CEO’s independence means the CEO may refuse to provide Council with information unless formally directed by resolution.
· There are no penalties for maladministration, misfeasance, malfeasance or non-feasance.
· Any liabilities incurred are paid by the Public Purse.
· The system of local government is therefore an “all-care, no responsibility” system.
· It is also fertile ground for discretional decisions and corruption in all of its forms.
It can be readily seen from the above that the system described is precisely the same system that was in place in eighteenth century colonialism under military governors.
In practice, the Chief Executive Officer of a local government in Western Australia is a de-facto local Governor.
This system is an anathema to the purpose of serving the people because it creates an arms-length power relationship where the people are subservient to their servants.
This system of local government is presented to the Public as
“democratic government in a liberal democracy under the Rule of Law”.
"A slightly different version of the argument--this is really the core of Max Weber's reflections on the subject--is that a bureaucracy, once created, will immediately move to make itself indispensable to anyone trying to wield power, no matter what they wish to do with it. The chief way to do this is always by attempting to monopolize access to certain key types of information." David Graeber
DISCLAIMER:
Local Government Councils and their individual Councillors appear to want to govern with discretional unfettered and unconstrained control but not be responsible for outcomes resulting from their decisions or indecisions and actions or inactions - i.e. an "all care and no responsibility" system.
Thus it is customary in government these days to qualify statements or information with a "disclaimer"
Accordingly, in like manner, the following DISCLAIMER applies to this website:
DISCLAIMER NOTICE:
This website is presented solely for public information, education and "the publick goode".
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CONTACT: email to:- lgreformwa@oestex.com
CONTRIBUTIONS:
If you would like to add your own experiences to this website please feel free to email them for consideration, or send me your details and I will contact you.
The focus of this website is FREEDOM, CIVIL RIGHTS and the RULE OF LAW.
Please note accounts of alleged corruption or mismanagement in your Local Government are not suitable for posting on this website. Persons wanting to make allegations should note the public is prone to forgiving their leaders when they are well liked and respected, so allegations are likely to be ignored unless criminal in nature and supported by hard evidence - but that is a role for higher authorities.
In any event, the Australian media has historically shown us that Australia is the only country in the world where political corruption (at any level) does not occur, so there can be nothing to allege.
However in the area of process management, management of Elector Meetings is one area of great concern because the lack of clear legislation offers scope for discretional manipulation of process and meeting outcomes. In recent times there have been media reports of some local governments banning (symbolic) motions of "No-confidence" by Electors in Elector meetings.
Note that all claims must be substantiated with documented evidence (such as minutes of meetings and/or public documents) and devoid of defamatory material.
NOTICE:
All material displayed or linked in this website is published for public information and education in the public interest under the authority of The Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914 No. 12, 1914 Part II—Offences against the Government – Section 24F, the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 (was repealed in 2018), the Western Australia Criminal Code Part VII S45 and various High Court of Australia judgements.
Readers are reminded of the WA Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913
Chapter X — Offences against political liberty
75. Interfering with political liberty
Any person who by violence, or by threats or intimidation of any kind, hinders or interferes with the free exercise of any political right by another person, is guilty of a crime, and is liable to imprisonment for 3 years.
Summary conviction penalty: imprisonment for 12 months and a fine of $12 000.
Councillors hold political office.
This Act of Parliament renders null and void any Local Law or Policy, being "subsidiary legislation", such as Standing Orders, that seeks to limit the above rights or declare persons "vexatious" for their free exercise of any political right.
Note the non-negotiable "summary" conviction. But who will issue the “Summary Infringement Notice?
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
CHAPTER V SECT 109
Inconsistency of laws
109. When a law of a State is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth, the latter shall prevail, and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid.
Notice: For the purposes of S4.87 of the Western Australia Local Government Act 1995 and R78 of the Local Government (Elections) Regulations 1997, this report is published in the public interest by Dennis Grimwood, Mt. Richon. WA. 6112
Please note this website is a work in progress. Pages will be modified and/or added as time permits.
This page is located at http://www.lgreformwa.oestex.com