Petitions inform the Council, in a public way, of the views of a section of the community and serve as one means of placing community concerns before Council.
Electors of the Town of Victoria Park may petition the Council to take some form of action over a particular issue. For example, petitions may ask the Council to change an existing policy, local law or recent decision, or for the Council to take action for a certain purpose or for the benefit of particular persons. The subject of a petition however must be a matter on which the Council has the power to act. For instance a petition cannot request the Council to improve hospital services, as this is a State Government responsibility.
Care must be taken in the wording of petitions as the Town requires certain information and content to be included to be a valid petition. Please view the example petition form linked below.
Please note that the form linked below is not the form for a petition for:
(a) a proposal to change the method of filling the office of Mayor;
(b) a submission/proposal about changes to the district, wards, name or representation;
(c) a request to hold a poll on a proposed amalgamation; or
(d) a request to hold a special meeting of electors.
The form of a petition for these matters is prescribed in the relevant local government regulations.
Clause 35 of the Town of Victoria Park Meeting Procedures Local Law 2019 sets out a number of requirements governing the format and presentation of petitions. These are designed to ensure the authenticity of petitions and protect the intentions of petitioners and Council.
The meeting procedures do not impose any particular style of expression but certain other requirements must be met. It is important that those involved in creating petitions familiarise themselves with these requirements before taking steps to collect signatures. This will avoid the possibility of the petition being ruled out of order and not being presented to Council.
To be presented to Council, a petition is to:
- be addressed to the Mayor;
- be made by electors of the district;
- state the request on each page of the petition;
- contain the name, address and signature of each elector making the request, and the date each elector signed;
- contain a summary of the reasons for the request; and
- state the name of the person to whom, and an address at which, notice to the petitioners can be given.
A petition is more representative of public feeling if it is signed by as many electors as possible. Although anyone can sign a petition, only those Town of Victoria Park electors will be recorded in the official signature count.
An elector is a person who is on the electoral roll of Town of Victoria Park.
All the signatures on a petition must meet the following requirements:
- Every signature must be written on a page bearing the terms of the petition, or the action requested by the petition.
- Signatures must not be copied, pasted or transferred on to the petition nor should they be placed on a blank page on the reverse of a sheet containing the terms of the petition; and
- Each signature must be made by the person signing in his or her own handwriting.
A petition can only be presented to Council at an Ordinary Council Meeting by the Mayor, a Councillor or the Chief Executive Officer. This can be any Councillor and does not have to be a Councillor from a particular ward.
The person initiating the petition is to forward the petition to the Chief Executive Officer, Mayor or a Councillor prior to the commencement of the Ordinary Council Meeting at which they would like the petition presented. Although the Elected Member is not bound to present a petition, it is traditionally accepted that he or she will present it, irrespective of personal views. Presentation of a petition by an Elected Member does not mean that the Member necessarily agrees or disagrees with its content.
For details of dates, times and location of Ordinary Council Meetings see the page Council meeting dates.
One of the first items of business at a Council meeting is for the Council to receive any petitions that have been presented. The Chief Executive Officer or Elected Member presenting the petition will read out a summary of the reasons for the petition being submitted and the number of signatures within it (if possible).
When the petition is received, it will be referred to the Chief Executive Officer for appropriate action. The Chief Executive Officer will then refer it to an officer responsible for the matter. The Chief Executive Officer’s representative will inform the petition initiator of the action proposed in dealing with the petition. This may involve having to prepare a detailed report for a future meeting of the Council for its consideration.