❓ A WA parliamentary question seeks clarification on the Department of Local Government's (DLG) authority to issue cautions to councillors, revealing the DLG has no legal basis to issue formal cautions but may advise caution as part of its compliance framework.
AnsweredQoN 8050Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
In relation to cautions issued by the Department of Local Government (DLG) to serving councillors since 2008, I ask:
(a) how many councillors have been issued a caution by DLG in the last four years;
(b) list the councils that have had councillors cautioned;
(c) on what legal basis can the DLG issue a caution to a councillor (please cite the relevant Act sections and regulations, and any legal advice received); and
(d) if the DLG cannot legally issue a caution then what steps has DLG taken to withdraw those cautions or advise those issued with a caution that the caution has no legal status?
(a) how many councillors have been issued a caution by DLG in the last four years;
(b) list the councils that have had councillors cautioned;
(c) on what legal basis can the DLG issue a caution to a councillor (please cite the relevant Act sections and regulations, and any legal advice received); and
(d) if the DLG cannot legally issue a caution then what steps has DLG taken to withdraw those cautions or advise those issued with a caution that the caution has no legal status?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
7 August 2012
Responded by
Minister for Local Government
Response time
76 days
Answer
(a)- (d)
There is no provision contained within the
Local Government Act 1995
or associated legislation which provides any power for the Department of Local Government to issue a formal legal caution to any person.
In the course of its core business of dealing with complaints about breaches of the
Local Government Act 1995
, the Department is required to determine whether there is
prima facie
evidence to substantiate allegations against a person who is the subject of a complaint. Should this be the case, subject to the facts and circumstances of each individual allegation, the Department has a number of options by which it can deal with each matter. These options, as detailed in the Department's compliance framework, range from reminding a person of their obligations under the Act and advising them to exercise caution should they be in a similar situation in the future, to the instigation of a formal sanction.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
(a)- (d)
There is no provision contained within the
Local Government Act 1995
or associated legislation which provides any power for the Department of Local Government to issue a formal legal caution to any person.
In the course of its core business of dealing with complaints about breaches of the
Local Government Act 1995
, the Department is required to determine whether there is
prima facie
evidence to substantiate allegations against a person who is the subject of a complaint. Should this be the case, subject to the facts and circumstances of each individual allegation, the Department has a number of options by which it can deal with each matter. These options, as detailed in the Department's compliance framework, range from reminding a person of their obligations under the Act and advising them to exercise caution should they be in a similar situation in the future, to the instigation of a formal sanction.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.