WA laws aim to silence barking dogs

By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian government has unleashed an ambitious plan to help councils stop dogs from barking. At least barking so much that they make a nuisance of themselves in populated areas. A newly proposed provision by Minister for Local Government Tony Simpson under the Dog Amendment Bill 2013 will provide councils with […]

Queensland drafts graffiti vandals as council cleaners

By Paul Hemsley Vandals caught defacing public and private property could soon be forced to scrub off their own unsightly mess under a hands-on aversion therapy plan by the Queensland government that will let local governments pressgang offenders into the role of council cleaners. The plan to force taggers to erase either their efforts or […]

All eyes on NSW over CCTV legal glitch

By Julian Bajkowski New South Wales Attorney General Greg Smith is under intense pressure to clarify to what degree local governments can now legally operate surveillance cameras in public spaces following a landmark decision on Friday in the state’s Administrative Decisions Tribunal that has left councils across the state demanding answers. After a weekend that […]

Accusations fly over Queensland land clearing laws

By Paul Hemsley The Queensland government has hit back over its controversial plan to ease restrictions on clearing by farmers and other property owners after the new laws again drew flak from councils over a lack of consultation and environmental groups opposed fearing threatened habitats will be destroyed. The sunshine state’s Minister for Natural Resources […]

S&P vows vigorous defence against councils’ ‘lawsuit is without merit’

By Julian Bajkowski Global financial ratings agency Standard & Poors has vowed to fight fresh legal action against it to recover millions of dollars lost by dozens of Australian councils after the local governments bought into junk, sub-prime instruments graded by the firm as AAA and AA quality investment products. The confirmation by S&P that […]

Councils to sue Standard & Poors in new action

By Julian Bajkowski Australian councils burned by toxic investments in collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) from collapsed bank Lehman Bros. have escalated their legal action and will try and rope-in ratings agency Standard & Poors in their bid to recover losses of around $200 million. Litigation funder IMF said on Tuesday afternoon that it will file […]

Lehman settlement for duped councils edges closer

By Julian Bajkowski Councils in New South Wales and Western Australia burned by the collapse of merchant bank Lehman Brothers could recoup around 45 cents in the dollar after liquidators attempted to broker a deal to litigants to settle litigation. While creditors and the Federal Court must still approve the deal, the compromise is a […]

Plan to simplify local laws gets council approval

By Paul Hemsley A push by New South Wales Local Government Minister, Don Page, to rewrite inconsistent and ad-hoc legislation governing the operation of councils into simple and cohesive laws has secured vital backing from the state’s municipal power brokers, clearing the way for a clean-out of defective regulations. The joint-president of Local Government New […]

Legal headaches for NSW land values

By Julian Bajkowski and Paul Hemsley The government of New South Wales could soon be in the bizarre position of attempting to sue itself after the head of a parliamentary committee holding an inquiry into the state’s Land Valuation System suggested that Broken Hill City Council consider litigation against the state’s Valuer General. The unprecedented […]

O’Farrell cracks down on nocturnal drunks

By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski When the tragic death of Thomas Kelly in Kings Cross from a so-called king-hit made headlines across Australia, it was the final straw for the O’Farrell government. After several months of dramatic news reports filled with colourful identities and bikies parading their power, shootings in crowded streets and seemingly […]

QLD councils hawkish on planning laws

By Paul Hemsley Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) chief executive officer Greg Hallam has warned the state government that councils will be keeping a close eye on recent reforms to local government planning to ensure that sure communities are not unfairly slugged with development costs. Mr Hallam’s statement follows the passage of the Newman […]

NSW Councils win battle against Standard & Poors

By Julian Bajkowski A group of 12 New South Wales councils have scored a second vital win in the ongoing legal battle over how toxic financial instruments were deceptively marketed to them as safe investments, causing the loss of millions of ratepayer’s dollars during the global financial crisis. A decision handed down on Monday by […]

WALGA barks at state to pass dog laws

By Paul Hemsley Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) President Troy Pickard has demanded the state government needs to urgently to push through two key pieces of legislation affecting the operation of councils before the parliamentary rises for the Christmas break. Mr Pickard has called on the state government to pass the Dog Amendment Bill […]

Lehman Brothers, Grange liable for council sub-prime losses

By Julian Bajkowski Local governments, charities and and not for profit groups have finally won a phyrric victory over collapsed US investment bank Lehman Brothers, after the Federal Court ruled that the institution is ultimately liable for almost $250 million in losses suffered by investors. Handed down by Justice Steven Rares on Friday, the decision […]

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