The Local Government Act 1995 provides that the City of Joondalup must hold:
An Electors’ General Meeting once every financial year; and
An Electors’ Special Meeting upon the request of 300 electors.
The next Annual General Meeting of Electors meeting will be held in the Council Chamber on Tuesday 5 March 2024, commencing at 5.30pm. The Annual Report 2022/23, adopted by Council on Wednesday 31 January 2024, will be discussed and is now available to members of the public.
The order of business for the Annual General Meeting is as follows:
Attendances and Apologies.
Contents of the 2022/23 Annual Report.
General Business.
PROCEDURES FOR ELECTORS’ MEETINGS
In accordance with regulation 18 of the Local Government (Administration) Regulations 1996, the procedures to be followed at electors’ meetings are determined by the Presiding Member. The procedures for the electors’ meeting are outlined in the Agenda and provided on this webpage.
GENERAL MOTIONS
It should be noted that any motions to be moved at the Annual General Meeting of Electors’ should be received in writing by the City by 9.00am on the Friday immediately prior to the scheduled AGM. That is, by 9.00am on Friday 1 March 2024. Motions should be uploaded to the online form available on this webpage or emailed to council.questions@joondalup.wa.gov.au.
Preference will be given to those electors that submit motions in writing by the required time. Guidance on writing motions can be provided to residents / ratepayers prior to the submission deadline by contacting the Governance Team on 9400 4369, alternatively a guidance paper on how to draft an effective motion is provided on this webpage.
PUBLIC WRITTEN QUESTIONS
The deadline for the submission of written questions is 9.00am on the Friday immediately prior to the scheduled AGM. That is, by 9.00am on Friday 1 March 2024.
A federal referendum is a national vote on a question about a proposed change to the Constitution. The Constitution is the founding document for how our country is governed. There have been 44 referendums held since 1901. It’s been quite a while since Australia held one – the last referendum was more than 20 years ago in 1999. The Australian Electoral Commission has a presentation outlining the process.
Who needs to vote
All Australian citizens aged 18 and over must vote in a referendum. You must be enrolled and you should update your enrolment details if you have:
• recently changed your name or address
• turned 18, or
• become an Australian citizen.
Visit aec.gov.au or pick up an enrolment form from any AEC office.
How to vote
Voting in a referendum is different to an election. You only need to complete one ballot paper. The ballot paper will show a question about a proposed change to the Constitution. To vote, write ‘yes’ if you approve or ‘no’ if you do not approve the proposed change.
When and where to vote
Voting day will be held on a Saturday with polling places open between 8am and 6pm around the country. Mobile polling teams will also visit many remote areas in the weeks leading up to voting day. More details will be available at aec.gov.au closer to the referendum.
Stop and consider the source
Your vote at the referendum will help make an important decision for Australia. During the referendum period, you may come across information that is deliberately misleading.
Stop, check, and consider the source of what you see, hear, or read. Don’t be misled by disinformation this referendum.
Visit aec.gov.au for tips on checking the source.
On Sunday 3 July 2022, the Minister for Local Government Hon. John Carey BA MLA, announced the final package of reforms to the Local Government Act 1995, following a review of public submissions.
The reforms are aimed at ensuring local governments better serve residents and ratepayers. The reforms have been crafted in consultation with the local government sector and are the most significant reforms to take place in more than 25 years.
Significant changes proposed by the Minister include:
the introduction of a new Inspector of Local Government, supported by an Inspectorate, which would investigate and oversee complaints;
the introduction of Local Government Monitors, who can be appointed by the Inspector to assist in resolving ongoing issues;
tougher penalties, including three-month suspensions for Councillors who are guilty of serious breaches of the act, and 10-year bans from local government elected office for anyone suspended three times;
mandatory recording of council meetings, and live streaming for larger tier one and two local governments;
tighter rules and clearer definitions regarding confidential meetings; and
introduction of parental and medical leave entitlements for elected members.
To ensure that key election related reforms are in place before the 2023 local government elections, the amendments to the Act were divided into two tranches. The first tranche was passed by Parliament on 11 May 2023, and focuses on electoral reform.
The second tranche will focus on the establishment of the new Local Government Inspector and the introduction of local government monitors for early intervention.
Further information regarding the local government reforms is available on the Department of Local Government website.
ELECTORAL REFORMS
The key electoral reforms that will be implemented for the October 2023 elections are:
Introducing optional preferential voting
Requiring public election of the mayor or president for all larger councils (already in place at the City of Joondalup)
Changes in representation including aligning the size of councils with the size of population of each local government area (no changes required for the City of Joondalup).
In accordance with Section 5.96A of the Local Government Act 1995 and Regulations 29C(2)(f) and (6) of the Local Government (Administration) Regulations 1996, a report must be prepared annually on any fees, expenses or allowances paid to each council member during a financial year, beginning 1 July 2021.
Below is the register made available for this purpose.
The City of Joondalup Council is made up of 13 elected members – the Mayor and 12 Councillors (two Councillors are each elected from one of the City’s six Wards). Each Elected Member is elected for a four-year term.
