I don't normally use bad language - even in abbreviation form - but this latest arrogance from Barnett has me absolutely gobsmacked.The Local Government Act states, very clearly, that the Minister can accept or reject recommendations from the Local Government Advisory Board.
The Local Government Act does not say that the Minister (or the Premier) can 'tweak' the recommendations to suit their own purposes.
So where does Col Pot get off in saying "We can do [tweak the recommendations], we are the Government … we can accept or reject, and probably will accept most of them, but accept or reject does not mean that we cannot do it in alternative way".
Barnett needs to understand or, failing that, be forcibly reminded that the power of Government is limited, in the immediate sense, by the law and by the Parliament and, in the longer term, by the people who elect it.
Time for a palace coup, methinks.
From Dr Nahan's website
ReplyDelete"Under the Local Government Act 1995, the Minister can only accept or reject the Board's recommendations and cannot alter its findings.
Although the Minister is unable to move the boundary, there are other means where minor boundary adjustments can be made following today's announcement. I assure the people of Riverton that I will continue to fight for the boundary to be shifted east, so that the suburbs of Riverton, Shelley and Willetton are not split."
What he is proposing isn't a minor boundary adjustment and none of the proposals have an intact Riverton (just the City of Canning's submission) so it is yet another variation.