Local Government

[Yenn]

The Qld government changed the legislation concerning local government mayors a short while ago. They made a law that said basicly that if a mayor ceases his or her duties in the first year after election, then the person who polled next highest in the mayoral election will assume the position of mayor. Supposedly to negate the need for a bi election in the first year of the mayors office.

Now Margaret Strelow, the mayor of Rockhampton in Qld resigned two days ago, A commission found her guilty of doing something wrong. She was not required to leave her Mayoral job but was told to apologise. She does not agree with the findings and refuses to apologise, but has said words to the effect that I don't consider I have done anything wrong and will not comply. I resign.

All well and good, she is entitled to her view and as much as I dislike the woman I applaud her stand.

The problem is that the only other contender in the mayoral election was a bloke who got 30% of the vote, he is a bit of a wierdo and rides a tricycle, plus goes around barefoot. The CEO it appears is required to start the ball rolling in getting him to become mayor.

For some reason the Local Government minister in the Qld government now says that they are going to change the legislation so that there has to be a bi election. We used to have our mayors chosen from the elected councillors, but that was changed by the Qld government years ago. That meant that if two competent people stood for mayor, one would not be on the council, meaning we lose probably the best councillor.

Now Qld Labor are going to break their own rules for what reason they will not say. they will not sit in parliament before the new year, so no chance of changing the legislation.

I don't know whether this is corrupt or incompetent government, but it makes a mockery of good government.

[Old Koreelah]

20 minutes ago, Yenn said:

...The problem is that the only other contender in the mayoral election was a bloke who got 30% of the vote, he is a bit of a wierdo and rides a tricycle, plus goes around barefoot...

After a couple of recent mishaps on my bicycle I too might need a third wheel- and I prefer to go barefoot when I can.

Maybe this bloke is the sort of outsider required to “Drain the Swamp”.

[Yenn]

At the moment that bloke is polling 12% of the vote and in third position. If nobody gets more than 50% there will have to be another vote. The first position holder has about 25% and is a sitting councilor. If the sitting councilor gets the required votes, there will have to be another election to replace him as a councilor.

There were 17 candidates and they all got a bit of time on the local ABC radio to explain their position. What struck me was that most of them listed leadership as a requirement for the mayoral position. I would have thought that the best way to get the correct person for Mayor, was for the council to be elected and the Mayor voted from the sitting councilors. That was the way it used to be done, before the State Government changed the rules to give themselves more control.

 

[spacesailor]

Give a Sargent power !, & he will be the Fuhrer !.

Give a General power. & he will be the Emperor ,.

AND YOU WILL BE THE SLAVE ,.

spacesailor

[Yenn]

I thought that the Fuhrer was a corporal.

[spacesailor]

I stand corrected! .

Just thought he had a promotion.

spacesailor

[facthunter]

I would go along with the Council deciding their own Chairperson but "some" Democracy philosophers" think the electorate should decide such things which is pretty much unworkable, as this example shows.  Maybe the State Government just went along with some UN or such body, advice.  The AEC (Australian Electoral Commission) have that view  unless it's changed lately, and can just impose (mandate ) it's adoption by certain bodies ELECTED by their members.. Nev

[spacesailor]

A lot of councilor, s got there to futher their own adjenda.

One particular person, almost wiped out the town, with his imposed rules.

Shop after shop in the main street was empty, including the servo,.

AND they relied on tourist. So he was removed & a new tourist strategy was enacted to save the town.

spacesailor

 

[Yenn]

What started this debate still has not been resolved. The latest is that at 5pm today, Tuesday, all postal votes will be in and counting can go on. The experts seem to think that it is still going to take days to find a new Mayor and also that there could well be another election required. The man who caused all the problem, who should have been declared Mayor, but the Qld government changed the rules to prevent him doing so has still 3rd position on the polls. The problem is 17 candidates and optional preferential voting. How do the count it?

[gareth lacey]

WE ,as a nation cannot afford 3 tiers of government, we have states with different road rules,and local rules differ everywhere , states and federal maybe , states only would be stupid and we have seen time and time again local government being greedy and sucking up to developers ,someone stated in another thread about using good fertile land to put housing, some developers are downright greedy and in collusion with local government, we have seen in my area good small acreage blocks(5,10,20 acres) snapped up because the local council has made it too costly to own acreage and the scumbags sell thae land and put boxes (houses) on 350 to 450 sq mtres blocks .slum dwellings in the making

[willedoo]

One thing that worries me is calls to abolish the states and make local government more powerful. From my experience with local councils, that's like giving the fox the key to the hen house.

[old man emu]

The States cannot be abolished by the Commonwealth Government, although Section 111 could be construed that, if the Parliament of a State decided to do so, then the whole territory of that State could be given over to the Commonwealth and all functions of the State would fall to the Commonwealth. Can you see Canberra accepting the offer of Victoria to surrender its territory to the Commonwealth? The Commonwealth would be in more strife than Speed Gordon. And the Victorian electorate would not be too pleased either.

 

111. States may surrender territory

The Parliament of a State may surrender any part of the State to the Commonwealth; and upon such surrender, and the acceptance thereof by the Commonwealth, such part of the State shall become subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commonwealth.

 

The giving up of land is a regular occurrence. All our military bases are on land surrendered by States to the Commonwealth, as are our major airports. The biggest surrenders of land occurred in NSW where the area of what is now the A.C.T. and the land now comprising the Jervis Bay Territory was surrendered by the state of New South Wales to the Commonwealth Government in 1915 to provide a seaport for the new Federal capital under construction at Canberra.

Seat of Government Surrender Act (NSW) Act 9 of 1915, JERVIS BAY TERRITORY ACCEPTANCE ACT 1915

[Yenn]

You are correct that the Commonwealth would not want to take over the States. They are doing very nicely thank you, as they will not even do what is required of them. they are happy passing the buck to the States. The states are in a similar position with local governments. The States make all the rules and the local government spends our rates money doing what the states deem essential.

At this moment the State Government here has decreed that the local water board has to provide an evacuation centre for the handfull of people who get cut off when the dam overflows and floods the river crossing. They have never worried before as in emergency those people can get across a bridge owned by the water board. I really cannot see what use an evacuation centre will be, because the people who are stranded will probably not be able to get to it, because of low lying land between it and most of the dwellings. But then again they may be thinking that the dam could give way, in which case a large part of two seaside towns would be submerged, but nobody talks about that eventuality.