LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL v MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND CO-OPERATIVES [1995] NSWCA 262

LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL v MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND CO-OPERATIVES

SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES — COURT OF APPEAL

GLEESON CJ, KIRBY P and COLE JA 1, 17 February 1995

[1995] NSWCA 262

LOCAL GOVERNMENT — election of council — number of councillors — computation of numbers — whether council has proposed to change the number of councillors — held: It did. Council of the City of Newcastle vy The Minister for Local Government and Co-operatives, Court of Appeal, unreported, February 1995 applied.

City of Newcastle Act 1986, s 7. Local Government Act 1919, ss 23.

Local Government Act 1993, ss 25A, 222, 223, 224, 226, 227, schedule 7, cll 22, 26.

Gleeson CJ. This is a summons that was removed into the Court of Appeal by order of Hunter J. It was heard together with the argument in the appeal in the Council of the City of Newcastle v The Minister for Local Government and Co-operatives.

The issue raised in the summons is substantially the same as that raised in the appeal concerning the Council of the City of Newcastle, and senior counsel for the plaintiff acknowledged that, if this court were to uphold the decision of Windeyer J, the facts of the case are indistinguishable. The relevant facts are set out in the affidavit of John Walker sworn 20 December 1994, paragraphs 1-8, and are not in contest.

As with the Council of the City of Newcastle, the Liverpool City Council had, prior to 1 July 1993, a popularly elected mayor who was also an alderman. Similarly, the council made a determination under s 224(2)of the 1993 Act the validity of which depended upon the same approach to the computation of numbers as had been taken by the Council of the City of Newcastle.

For the reasons given in relation to the appeal concerning the Council of the City of Newcastle, the summons should be dismissed with costs.