New South Wales Consolidated Acts

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1993 - SECT 218F

218F Referral of proposal for examination and report

(1) On making or receiving a proposal, the Minister must refer it for examination and report to the Boundaries Commission or to the Departmental Chief Executive.

(2) Sections 263, 264 and 265 apply to the examination of a proposal by the Departmental Chief Executive in the same way as they apply to the examination of a proposal by the Boundaries Commission.

(3) For the purpose of examining a joint proposal of 2 or more councils for the amalgamation of two or more areas under section 218A, the Boundaries Commission or Departmental Chief Executive, as the case requires, must seek the views of electors of each of those areas--

(a) by means of--

(i) advertised public meetings, and

(ii) invitations for public submissions, and

(iii) postal surveys or opinion polls, in which reply-paid questionnaires are distributed to all electors, or

(b) by means of formal polls.

(4) The period over which the views of electors are to be sought as referred to in subsection (3) must be a period of at least 40 days.

(5) Part 3 of Chapter 4 applies to a formal poll taken by the Boundaries Commission or Departmental Chief Executive in the same way as it applies to a council poll referred to in that Part.

(6) If a proposal that is not supported by one or more of the councils affected by it, or that is an amalgamation proposal, has been referred to the Departmental Chief Executive under subsection (1)--

(a) the Departmental Chief Executive must furnish the Departmental Chief Executive's report to the Boundaries Commission for review and comment, and

(b) the Boundaries Commission must review the report and send its comments to the Minister.

(7) The Minister may recommend to the Governor that the proposal be implemented--

(a) with such modifications as arise out of--

(i) the Boundaries Commission's report, or

(ii) the Departmental Chief Executive's report (and, if applicable, the Boundaries Commission's comments on that report), and

(b) with such other modifications as the Minister determines,

but may not do so if of the opinion that the modifications constitute a new proposal.

(8) The Minister may decline to recommend to the Governor that the proposal be implemented.