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Prahran Mechanics' Institute (Amendment) Bill
Introduction Print
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
General
Preamble The Preamble notes that the Prahran Mechanics' Institute Act
1899 provides for the incorporation of the Prahran Mechanics'
Institution and Circulating Library ("the Institute") and for the
establishment of a governing committee of 9 members including
the Mayor of the City of Prahran and 4 persons elected by that
municipal council.
The Preamble also notes that City of Prahran and the City of
Malvern were abolished in 1994 and replaced by the Stonnington
City Council and that it is expedient to amend the Prahran
Mechanics' Institute Act 1899 to refer to the Stonnington City
Council, to reduce the membership of the governing committee
and to reduce council representation on the governing committee.
Clause Notes
Clause 1 states that the main purpose of the Bill is to amend the Prahran
Mechanics' Institute Act 1899 firstly, to alter the composition
of the governing committee of the Institute and secondly, to
validate certain decisions of the governing committee of the
Institute.
Clause 2 provides that the Bill is to come into operation on the day after
the day on which it receives Royal Assent.
Clause 3 provides that the Prahran Mechanics' Institute Act 1899 is
referred to as the Principal Act throughout the Bill.
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551387 BILL LA INTRODUCTION 25/10/2005
Clause 4 repeals sections 6(1) and 6(2) of the Principal Act. Section 6(1)
originally set out the membership of the governing committee--
namely
· a President (being the Mayor of the City of Prahran);
· four members elected by the council representing the
then four wards of the City of Prahran; and
· four members elected at the annual general meeting of
the Institute.
Section 6(2) provided that the representatives of the City of
Prahran held office for as long as they held office with the City of
Prahran and the other members held office until the next annual
general meeting.
These sub-sections are replaced with sub-sections (1), (2), (2A)
and (2B). These provide that the governing committee is to have
a membership of seven with one being appointed by the
Stonnington City Council (for a term specified by the Council)
and six are to be elected by the members of the Institute.
Members of the governing committee that are elected by the
members of the Institute are to be elected at an annual general
meeting. These members are to hold office for 4 years in
accordance with the Rules of the Committee (the current 1995
Rules of the Institute provide for rotating election of members).
Clause 4 also inserts a new section 6(4) which provides for
appointment of members by default by the Governor-in-Council.
This replaces the original section 8 in the Act.
Clause 5 substitutes the original section 7 with a new section 7 that
provides for the filling of extraordinary vacancies on the
governing committee of the Institute. The new section 7 provides
that a vacancy by the Council member is to be filled by the
Council and other vacancies are to be filled by the governing
committee.
The replacement member holds office only for the unexpired
portion of the vacant membership.
Clause 6 repeals section 8 as this appointment by default provision is now
contained in section 6(4).
Clause 7 amends section 9 to increase the quorum of the governing
committee from three to four to ensure that decisions of the
governing committee are made by a majority of members.
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Clause 8 inserts a new section 15. This section provides that the actions of
the governing committee prior to the enactment of this Act are
deemed to be validly done as if the governing committee had
been validly constituted at the time. This limited validation
ensures that the previous actions of the governing committee
cannot be queried simply on the basis of an error in the
constitution of the committee.
Clause 8 also inserts a new section 16, which is a saving
provision. The new section provides that the governing
committee is deemed to be the same body despite the changes in
its membership.
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