Community
11 December, 2023
Eight vie for key role
EIGHT nominations have been received for the vacant division 4 councillor position on Cairns Regional Council.
Council chief executive officer Mica Martin said council officers were going through the process to ensure nominees were qualified to be appointed in accordance with requirements under the Local Government Act 2009 (LGA).
“Once qualified nominees are verified, a report will be compiled and tabled at the next ordinary council meeting on Wednesday, December 13,” she said.
“The report will identify the names of all nominees qualified to be a councillor and include a copy of their candidate statement.”
The vacant division 4 councillor position will be appointed by the following method:
Mayor Terry James will chair the meeting
The report before the meeting will identify the names of all nominees qualified to be a councillor, including their candidate statement of selection
The chairman will call to suspend standing orders to allow more than one motion on the table.
The chairman will call for a mover for a proposed nominee from the list to be appointed to the position of division 4 councillor
If there is a seconder, the nomination will lay on the table
It will be repeated until there are no more valid nominations
Each nominee is offered the chance to speak for two minutes
The chairman will then put to a vote the first nomination in the ordinary (and open) manner, as prescribed by section 254 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 (the Regulation) and council’s standing orders. If a majority of councillors vote to appoint the first nominee as division 4 councillor, that is the end of the councillor appointment process
If the first nominee does not secure the majority support of councillors, the motion to appoint the first nominee fails and the chairman then calls for a vote for the next nomination
The process will, if necessary, repeat itself until a nominee receives a majority of the vote of councillors
Once a nominee has the majority vote, the chairman will ask the remaining nominees if they want to continue to call the vote
Each councillor has only one vote
Once a majority of councillors vote to appoint a division 4 councillor, that is the end of the councillor appointment process.
Following their appointment by council, the CEO will then swear in the new councillor.
The council is following the requirements under the LGA to fill the vacant councillor position for the remainder of the term.
The position became vacant following the resignation of former Mayor Bob Manning in November this year.
At the ordinary council meeting on November 22, 2023, Cr James, the former deputy mayor and division 4 councillor was appointed mayor of the Cairns Regional Council, followed by the appointment of Cr Brett Moller as new deputy mayor.
Under the act there is no requirement to hold an election to fill the vacancy so close to an election.
