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City of Greater Geelong Amendment
Bill 2017
Introduction Print
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Clause Notes
Clause 1 sets out the purpose of the Bill, which is to amend the City of
Greater Geelong Act 1993 (the Principal Act) to amend the
constitution of the Greater Geelong City Council and amend the
method of election of the Council's Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
Clause 2 is the commencement provision. The Act is to come into
operation on the day after it receives Royal Assent.
Clause 3 states that the City of Greater Geelong Act 1993 is called the
Principal Act in this Bill.
Clause 4 repeals section 7 of the Principal Act, which prescribed the
constitution of the Greater Geelong City Council from the 2012
general election.
Clause 5 substitutes section 8 and 9 of the Principal Act with provisions
specifying--
• From the 2017 general election of the Council, its
electoral structure is reconstituted to consist of
11 Councillors elected from 4 wards--3 wards
consisting of 3 Councillors and one ward consisting
of 2 Councillors.
• An Order in Council may be made under section 220Q
of the Local Government Act 1989 to alter ward
boundaries and assign Councillors to each ward to
implement the Council's reconstituted electoral
structure.
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• For future general elections of the Council after the
2017 general election, an Order in Council may be
made under section 220Q of the Local Government
Act 1989 to alter the Council's electoral structure.
Clause 6 substitutes Division 1 of Part 3 of the Principal Act to remove
the requirement for the Mayor of Greater Geelong City Council
to be directly elected by voters, and replace this with a procedure
for the Mayor to be elected by the Councillors of the Council.
The new Division provides--
• A Mayor must be elected by the Councillors at an open
meeting of the Council and within 2 months of a general
election. Until this occurs, the Council must appoint
one of the Councillors to chair each Council meeting.
• A subsequent Mayor is to be elected not earlier than
23 months but no later than 24 months after the election
of the previous Mayor.
• If a vacancy in the office of Mayor occurs, a Mayor
is to be elected within one month of that vacancy.
• Election of Mayor after these periods does not
invalidate the election.
Clause 7 substitutes section 11A of the Principal Act to specify the
circumstances when the office of Mayor becomes vacant,
which align with the relevant provisions under the Local
Government Act 1989 that apply to vacancy of Mayor at
other Councils except the Melbourne City Council.
Clause 8 repeals section 11B(1) and (2) of the Principal Act, which
provided for the filling of a vacancy of the directly-elected
Mayor.
Clause 9 substitutes section 11C(1) and (2) of the Principal Act, which
sets out the procedure for election of Deputy Mayor of Greater
Geelong City Council. This procedure is the same as for the
election of Mayor of the Council.
The clause also amends section 11C(3) and substitutes
section 11C(4), (4A) and (4B) of the Principal Act to align
the circumstances when the position of Deputy Mayor
becomes vacant with those of the Mayor.
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Clause 10 substitutes section 15(3) and (5) of the Principal Act.
New section 15(3) clarifies the moment from when the Mayor
is entitled to receive the Mayoral allowance. New section 15(5)
provides that the Deputy Mayor is entitled to receive the
Mayoral allowance if required to act in that position for a
continuous period exceeding 50 days. This is the same as at
other Councils.
Clause 11 repeals Part 4 of the Principal Act, which provided for
electoral representation reviews and subdivision reviews at
Greater Geelong City Council that excluded the position of
directly-elected Mayor. The framework for these reviews
that applies to other Councils under the Local Government
Act 1989 will apply to Greater Geelong City Council.
Clause 12 provides that the Act is repealed on the first anniversary of
the date it comes into operation. The repeal of this Act does
not affect the continuing operation of the amendments made
by it (see section 15(1) of the Interpretation of Legislation
Act 1984).
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