Woollahra Municipal Council v Minister for Local Government

Land and Environment Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Woollahra Municipal Council v Minister for Local Government [2016] NSWLEC 86 Hearing dates:20 and 21 April, 18 and 23 May and 28 June 2016Date of orders: 20 July 2016 Decision date: 20 July 2016 Jurisdiction:Class 4Before: Preston CJ Decision: Orders as set out at [312] Catchwords: JUDICIAL REVIEW – proposal for amalgamation of local government areas – referral of proposal to Departmental Chief Executive for examination and report – inquiry required to be held – whether reasonable public notice given of the holding of inquiry – whether inquiry held in accordance with Act – whether examination and report on proposal in accordance with Act – whether an affected council denied procedural fairness by Departmental Chief Executive – review and comment on Departmental Chief Executive’s report by Boundaries Commission – whether review conducted in accordance with Act – whether affected council denied procedural fairness by Boundaries Commission – publicly accessible material in support of proposal represented that analysis and modelling of consultant was independent – whether representations misleading – whether allegedly misleading representations invalidated statutory process of amalgamation Legislation Cited: Interpretation Act 1987 s 35(1) Local Government Act 1993 ss 204, 213, 218, 218A, 218B, 218C, 218D, 218E, 218F, 218F(1), 218F(2), 218F(6), 218F(7), 218F(8), 260, 261, 262, 263, 263(1), 263(2), 263(2A), 263(2B), 263(3), 263(5), 264, 265, 438U, 705, 706, Pts 1, 2 and 3 of Ch 9, Pt 8 of Ch 13, Pt 2 of Ch 17, Sch 2 Cases Cited:...