❓ Question addresses a vote of no-confidence in the Mayor of the City of Gosnells, inquiries into complaints against the Mayor, and potential changes to the Local Government Act regarding the removal of directly elected Mayors. The Minister's response indicates ongoing investigations and encourages public input into the Act's review.
AnsweredQoN 4197Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the recent vote of no-confidence in Mayor Colin Dewhurst, which passed 10 to 1 by City of Gosnells councillors , and ask: (a) has the department received complaints over Mayor Dewhurst’s conduct: (i) if
yes, how many complaints; (ii) who
lodged the complaints; (iii) on
what dates were the complaints received by the department; (iv) how
many of the complaints were deemed to be serious; and (v) what
action did the department take against each of the complaints; (b) considering
Mayor Dewhurst hasn’t resigned despite a vote of no-confidence, is the Minister
considering adding the City of Gosnells to the list of local governments under
active investigation by the department: (i) if
not, why not; and (c) in relation to the review of the Local Government Act 1995 being undertaken by the department, will future consideration be given to councils who directly elect a Mayor to also have the power to remove a councillor from that office: (i) if
not, why not?
yes, how many complaints; (ii) who
lodged the complaints; (iii) on
what dates were the complaints received by the department; (iv) how
many of the complaints were deemed to be serious; and (v) what
action did the department take against each of the complaints; (b) considering
Mayor Dewhurst hasn’t resigned despite a vote of no-confidence, is the Minister
considering adding the City of Gosnells to the list of local governments under
active investigation by the department: (i) if
not, why not; and (c) in relation to the review of the Local Government Act 1995 being undertaken by the department, will future consideration be given to councils who directly elect a Mayor to also have the power to remove a councillor from that office: (i) if
not, why not?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
21 November 2018
Responded by
Minister for Local Government
Response time
12 days
(a) The Department has commenced investigations and it would not be appropriate for me to provide any further detail until these investigations have concluded.
(b) Votes of no-confidence are not addressed in the Local Government Act 1995.
The Department is investigating allegations made to date, but has not yet been made aware of any alleged conduct that would give the Director General cause to commence an authorised inquiry under section 8.3 of the Act.
(c) A number of discussion papers have been released to encourage people and organisations to contribute to the transformation of the Local Government Act. There are a range of opportunities to provide feedback between now and the end of March 2019, and I encourage anyone with ideas to contribute to take this opportunity to get involved.
All submissions and feedback received through this process will be considered for inclusion in the new Local Government Act.
(b) Votes of no-confidence are not addressed in the Local Government Act 1995.
The Department is investigating allegations made to date, but has not yet been made aware of any alleged conduct that would give the Director General cause to commence an authorised inquiry under section 8.3 of the Act.
(c) A number of discussion papers have been released to encourage people and organisations to contribute to the transformation of the Local Government Act. There are a range of opportunities to provide feedback between now and the end of March 2019, and I encourage anyone with ideas to contribute to take this opportunity to get involved.
All submissions and feedback received through this process will be considered for inclusion in the new Local Government Act.
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