South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts57—Restriction on activities during the relevant period
(1) In this
section—
"asset" means anything that must be treated as an asset for the purposes of
the financial statements of a council;
"lease" includes an agreement for lease, but does not include a lease entered
into as a result of the exercise of a right or option to renew a lease entered
into before the commencement of the relevant period;
"relevant period" in relation to a council means a period commencing on the
date of a declaration under this section that relates to the council and
ending on the day on which general elections for the council held pursuant to
that section conclude.
(2) This section
applies to a council that is the subject of a declaration under
section 56.
(3) Subject to this
section, if during a relevant period the council to which the period
relates—
(a)
enters into a contract for the appointment of a chief executive officer; or
(b)
enters into a contract—
(i)
the terms of which require (either unconditionally or
subject to conditions) the council to make a payment exceeding $100 000,
or payments exceeding $100 000 in total; or
(ii)
the terms of which entitle the council to receive a
payment exceeding $100 000, or payments exceeding $100 000, on
account of the disposal by the council of an asset of the council; or
(c)
enters into a lease under which the rent payable by the lessee in any period
exceeds $100 000,
without the approval of the Minister, the contract or lease is liable to be
voided by the Minister.
(4) However,
subsection (3) does not apply to—
(a) a
contract or lease entered into by the council to give effect to any
expenditure or revenue measure contained in a budget adopted by the council
before the commencement of the relevant period; or
(b) a
contract or lease of a kind excluded from the operation of that subsection by
the Minister (on conditions, if any, determined by the Minister).
(5) An approval
granted by the Minister for the purposes of this section has no effect unless
the council had, before submitting the relevant contract or lease to the
Minister for approval, resolved that it would, subject to the approval of the
Minister, enter into the contract or lease.
(6) If—
(a) the
Minister voids a contract or lease under this section; and
(b) the
Minister or the council incurs a liability by reason of or in relation to the
contract or lease,
the Minister or the council (as the case may be) may recover the whole of the
amount of the liability as a debt from the persons who were members of the
council at the time that the contract was made or lease was entered into or
made, or from any of them, or from any one of them.