(1) In this section
—
acquire has a meaning that accords with the
meaning of dispose ;
dispose includes to sell, lease, or otherwise
dispose of, whether absolutely or not;
land transaction means an agreement, or several
agreements for a common purpose, under which a local government is to —
(a)
acquire or dispose of an interest in land; or
(b)
develop land;
major land transaction means a land transaction
other than an exempt land transaction if the total value of —
(a) the
consideration under the transaction; and
(b)
anything done by the local government for achieving the purpose of the
transaction,
is more, or is worth more, than the amount
prescribed for the purposes of this definition;
major trading undertaking means a trading
undertaking that —
(a) in
the last completed financial year, involved; or
(b) in
the current financial year or the financial year after the current financial
year, is likely to involve,
expenditure by the local government of more than
the amount prescribed for the purposes of this definition, except an exempt
trading undertaking;
trading undertaking means an activity carried on
by a local government with a view to producing profit to it, or any other
activity carried on by it that is of a kind prescribed for the purposes of
this definition, but does not include anything referred to in paragraph (a) or
(b) of the definition of land transaction .
(2) Before it —
(a)
commences a major trading undertaking; or
(b)
enters into a major land transaction; or
(c)
enters into a land transaction that is preparatory to entry into a major land
transaction,
a local government is
to prepare a business plan.
(3) The business plan
is to include an overall assessment of the major trading undertaking or major
land transaction and is to include details of —
(a) its
expected effect on the provision of facilities and services by the local
government; and
(b) its
expected effect on other persons providing facilities and services in the
district; and
(c) its
expected financial effect on the local government; and
(d) its
expected effect on matters referred to in the local government’s current
plan prepared under section 5.56; and
(e) the
ability of the local government to manage the undertaking or the performance
of the transaction; and
(f) any
other matter prescribed for the purposes of this subsection.
(4) The local
government is to —
(a) give
Statewide public notice stating that —
(i)
the local government proposes to commence the major
trading undertaking or enter into the major land transaction described in the
notice or into a land transaction that is preparatory to that major land
transaction; and
(ii)
a copy of the business plan may be inspected or obtained
at any place specified in the notice; and
(iii)
submissions about the proposed undertaking or transaction
may be made to the local government before a day to be specified in the
notice, being a day that is not less than 6 weeks after the notice is given;
and
(b) make
a copy of the business plan available for public inspection in accordance with
the notice; and
(c)
publish a copy of the business plan on the local government’s official
website.
(5) After the last day
for submissions, the local government is to consider any submissions made and
may decide* to proceed with the undertaking or transaction as proposed or so
that it is not significantly different from what was proposed.
* Absolute majority required.
[(5a) deleted]
(6) If the local
government wishes to commence an undertaking or transaction that is
significantly different from what was proposed it can only do so after it has
complied with this section in respect of its new proposal.
(7) The local
government can only commence the undertaking or enter into the transaction
with the approval of the Minister if it is of a kind for which the regulations
require the Minister’s approval.
(8) A local government
can only continue carrying on a trading undertaking after it has become a
major trading undertaking if it has complied with the requirements of this
section that apply to commencing a major trading undertaking, and for the
purpose of applying this section in that case a reference in it to commencing
the undertaking includes a reference to continuing the undertaking.
(9) A local government
can only enter into an agreement, or do anything else, as a result of which a
land transaction would become a major land transaction if it has complied with
the requirements of this section that apply to entering into a major land
transaction, and for the purpose of applying this section in that case a
reference in it to entering into the transaction includes a reference to doing
anything that would result in the transaction becoming a major land
transaction.
(10) For the purposes
of this section, regulations may —
(a)
prescribe any land transaction to be an exempt land transaction;
(b)
prescribe any trading undertaking to be an exempt trading undertaking.
[Section 3.59 amended: No. 1 of 1998 s. 12; No. 64
of 1998 s. 18(1) and (2); No. 16 of 2019 s. 11.]