There goes another one

Another Victorian Local Government Bill has fallen by the wayside. The DELWP Local Government Act Review website advises that:

The review resulted in the Local Government Bill 2018 being introduced into Parliament on 23 May 2018.

All parliamentary proceedings have since come to an end in the lead up to the State election. This means that the Bill has lapsed, and the Local Government Act 1989 continues to form the basis of the legal framework for the constitution, role and governance of Victorian councils.

It is not the first time that a Local Government Bill has failed to produce an Act. The 1989 Act came along after three Bills had been introduced:

• one was withdrawn;

• a second lapsed when Parliament was prorogued;

• the third, after amendment, became the Local Government Act 1989 which continues in force thirty years later.

Bonne courage to those who are now back at the drawing board.