Schedule 5 Provisions with respect to constitution and procedure of Western Lands Advisory Council
(Section 8B)
(1) The Minister may, from time to time, appoint a person to act in the office of chairperson during the illness or absence of a chairperson, and the person, while so acting, has all the functions of the chairperson and is taken to be the chairperson.(2) The Minister may, at any time, remove a person from an office to which the person has been appointed under this clause.(3) For the purposes of this clause, a vacancy in the office of chairperson is taken to be an absence from office of the chairperson.
Subject to this Schedule, a member of the Western Lands Advisory Council holds office for such term (not exceeding 3 years) as is specified in the member’s instrument of appointment, but is eligible (if otherwise qualified) for re-appointment.
A member of the Western Lands Advisory Council is entitled to be paid such remuneration (including travelling and subsistence allowances) as the Minister may from time to time determine in respect of the member.
4 Vacancy in office of appointed member
(1) The office of a member of the Western Lands Advisory Council becomes vacant if the member:(a) dies, resigns or is removed from office, or(b) is absent from 4 consecutive meetings of the Council of which reasonable notice has been given to the member, unless:(i) the Council has granted the member leave to be absent from those meetings, or(ii) within 4 weeks after the last of those meetings, the member is excused by the Council for having been absent from those meetings, or(c) becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his or her creditors or makes an assignment of his or her remuneration for their benefit, or(d) becomes a mentally incapacitated person, or(e) is convicted in New South Wales of an offence that is punishable by imprisonment for 12 months or more or is convicted elsewhere than in New South Wales of an offence that, if committed in New South Wales, would be an offence so punishable.(2) The Minister may remove a member of the Western Lands Advisory Council from office at any time.
5 Filling of vacancy in office of member
If the office of a member of the Western Lands Advisory Council becomes vacant, a person is, subject to this Act, to be appointed to fill the vacancy.
6 Disclosure of pecuniary interests
(1) A member of the Western Lands Advisory Council who has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest:(a) in a matter that is being considered, or is about to be considered, at a meeting of the Council, or(b) in a thing being done or about to be done by the Council,must, as soon as possible after the relevant facts have come to the member’s knowledge, disclose the nature of the interest at a meeting of the Council.(2) A disclosure at such a meeting that the member:(a) is a member, or is in the employment, of a specified company or other body, or(b) is a partner, or is in the employment, of a specified person, or(c) has some other specified interest relating to a specified company or other body or a specified person,is taken to be a sufficient disclosure of the nature of the interest in any matter or thing relating to that company or other body or to that person that may arise after the date of the disclosure.(3) The Western Lands Advisory Council must cause particulars of any disclosure made under subclause (1) or (2) to be recorded in a book kept for the purpose, and that book must be open at all reasonable hours to the inspection, free of charge, of any person.(4) After a member has, or is deemed to have, disclosed the nature of an interest in any matter or thing under subclause (1) or (2), the member must not, unless the Minister otherwise determines:(a) be present during any deliberation, or take part in any decision, of the Western Lands Advisory Council with respect to that matter, or(b) exercise any functions under this Act with respect to that thing,as the case requires.(5) A contravention of this clause does not invalidate any decision of the Western Lands Advisory Council or the exercise of any function under this Act.(6) A reference in this clause to a meeting of the Western Lands Advisory Council includes a reference to a meeting of any of its committees.
7 Effect of certain other Acts
(1) Chapter 2 of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 does not apply to or in respect of the appointment of a member of the Western Lands Advisory Council and the office of such a member is not, for the purposes of any Act, an office or place of profit under the Crown.(2) If by or under any other Act provision is made:(a) requiring a person who is the holder of a specified office to devote the whole of his or her time to the duties of that office, or(b) prohibiting the person from engaging in employment outside the duties of that office,that provision does not operate so as to disqualify the person from holding that office and also the office of a member of the Western Lands Advisory Council, or from accepting and retaining any remuneration payable to the person under this Part as such a member.
Except as otherwise provided by this Act or the regulations:(a) meetings of the Western Lands Advisory Council are to be held at such times and places as are fixed by the chairperson, and(b) the procedure for the convening of meetings and for the conduct of business at those meetings is to be as determined by the chairperson.
A majority of the members of the Western Lands Advisory Council constitutes a quorum.
The chairperson (or, in the absence of the chairperson, a member appointed by the members then present) is to preside at a meeting of the Western Lands Advisory Council.
(1) At any meeting of the Western Lands Advisory Council, all members present are to strive for consensus in reaching decisions.(2) However, a decision by the Western Lands Advisory Council has effect if it is supported by a majority of the votes cast at a meeting at which a quorum is present.
(1) The presiding member at a meeting of the Western Lands Advisory Council must cause a record of the proceedings at the meeting to be made.(2) Records made for the purposes of this clause may be destroyed after the expiry of the period prescribed by the regulations.
13 Authentication of documents
Any document requiring authentication by the Western Lands Advisory Council is sufficiently authenticated if it is signed by:(a) the member who presided at the meeting that dealt with the proceedings with respect to which the document was prepared, or(b) in the absence of that member, any other member who was present at that meeting.
The first meeting of the Western Lands Advisory Council is to be called by the Minister in such manner as the Minister considers appropriate.