Proposed changes to the Model Code of Conduct for Councils

Posted on May 15, 2012 by chris campbell

The Division of Local Government (DLG) has released a consultation draft of proposed amendments to the Model Code of Conduct for Local Councils in NSW (Model Code), Local Government Act 1993 (LGA) and Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.

The most signficant of the proposed changes is the separation of the Model Code into two documents. The prescribed standards of conduct for councillors and council staff will continue to be set out in the Model Code, but its administration will now be governed by a separate document, the Procedures for the Administration of the Model Code (Code Procedures).

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Local Government Amendment Act 2012

Posted on May 11, 2012 by dr lindsay taylor

The Local Government Act 2012 (‘Amendment Act‘) was assented to on 4 April 2012.

The Amendment Act amends the Local Government Act 1993 (‘LGA‘) in relation to the following matters:

  • leases and licences of community land,
  • vacancies in civic office,
  • elections and voting,
  • exercise of a council’s functions before elections, and
  • disclosure of interests Continue reading →
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Supreme Court imposes easement over public reserve in favour of residential land

Posted on May 3, 2012 by frances tse

In Samy Saad v City of Canterbury [2012] NSWSC 389 the Supreme Court imposed an easement in the form of a right of way (‘ROW‘) over a council owned public reserve to facilitate access to landlocked residential land to enable the owner to erect a dwelling house. Continue reading →

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Unlawful use of a ‘dwelling’?

Posted on April 30, 2012 by chris campbell

In the recent case of Wollondilly Shire Council v 820 Cawdor Road Pty Ltd [2012] NSWLEC 71, Lloyd AJ of the Land and Environment Court had to decide whether to exercise the Court’s discretion to make orders that would have had the effect of evicting a 67 year old man from a dilapidated building situated on a 99 hectare rural property, that the man had lived in for the past 20 years. Continue reading →

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Copyright vs the GIPA Act

Posted on April 30, 2012 by emily pratt

In March 2012, the Office of the Information Commissioner (‘OIC’) issued a ‘knowledge update’  on ‘Copyright and compliance with the GIPA Act’ (‘the Update‘).

The Update discusses  advice received by the OIC on the relationship between the obligations upon local councils to provide access to development applications (DAs) and plans associated with DAs and the application of copyright legislation to those plans. Continue reading →

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Whether expert reports in Class 1 proceedings can be provided to resident objectors

Posted on April 30, 2012 by frances tse

Justice Biscoe in the Land and Environment Court  recently considered the question of whether an objector in appeal proceedings in the Class 1 jurisdiction of the Court can be provided with expert reports. See Newcastle Muslim Association Incorporated v Newcastle City Council [2012] NSWLEC 20. Continue reading →

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ADT allows release of code of conduct investigation report

Posted on April 26, 2012 by frances tse

Further to our post on Hurst v Wagga Wagga City Council [2011] NSWADT 307, the Administrative Decisions Tribunal has recently handed down a judgement on the release of a local government investigation report into allegations of misconduct and maladministration.

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When can extrinsic material (such as the DA) be used to construe a development consent?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by frances tse

Whether extrinsic materials can be used to construe a development consent is discussed in a recent case Quarry Products (Newcastle) Pty Limited and Allandale Blue Metal Pty Limited v Roads and Maritime Services (No.3) [2012] NSWLEC 57.

The case related to a quarry within the Cessnock local government area. A question arose as to the extent of land that could be quarried  within two portions of land that were the nominal subject of the development consent for the quarry operation.

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ICAC and the Planning Review

Posted on March 27, 2012 by mark bonanno

In response to ‘The Way Ahead for Planning in NSW? Issues Paper of the NSW Planning System Review’: (December 2011) (Review), the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has prepared a submission entitled ‘Anti- Corruption Safeguards and the Planning System’, February, 2012 (Submission).

The Submission presents six key corruption safeguards it wants integrated into the NSW planning system, encompassed in 16 separate recommendations. Continue reading →

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Contractual arrangements concerning owner’s consent to DAs and carrying out of work

Posted on March 27, 2012 by emily pratt

On 1 March 2012 the New South Wales Supreme Court delivered a judgment in Ryding v Miles & Ors [2012] NSWSC 153. In issue in the case was whether the terms of a lease obliged the owners to give their consent to the lodgement of a development applications by the tenant and/or to consent to the carrying out of works the subject of the development application.

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