(1) If a member has
disclosed, under section 5.65, an interest in a matter, the members present at
the meeting who are entitled to vote on the matter —
(a) may
allow the disclosing member to be present during any discussion or decision
making procedure relating to the matter; and
(b) may
allow, to the extent decided by those members, the disclosing member to
preside at the meeting (if otherwise qualified to preside) or to participate
in discussions and the decision making procedures relating to the matter if
—
(i)
the disclosing member also discloses the extent of the
interest; and
(ii)
those members decide that the interest —
(I) is so trivial or insignificant as to be
unlikely to influence the disclosing member’s conduct in relation to the
matter; or
(II) is common to a
significant number of electors or ratepayers.
(1A) Subsection (1)
does not apply if —
(a) the
interest disclosed is an interest relating to a gift; and
(b)
subsection (1B) or (1C) applies to the gift.
(1B) This subsection
applies to the gift if the disclosing member was or is required by regulations
under section 4.59(a) to provide information about the gift in relation to an
election.
(1C) This subsection
applies to the gift if —
(a) the
amount of the gift exceeds the amount prescribed for the purposes of this
subsection; or
(b) the
gift is 1 of 2 or more gifts made by 1 person to the disclosing member at any
time during a year and the sum of the amounts of those 2 or more gifts exceeds
the amount prescribed for the purposes of this subsection.
(2) A decision under
this section is to be recorded in the minutes of the meeting relating to the
matter together with —
(a) the
extent of any participation allowed by the council or committee; and
(b) if
the decision concerns an interest relating to a gift, the information
prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph.
(3) This section does
not prevent the disclosing member from discussing, or participating in the
decision making process on, the question of whether an application should be
made to the Minister under section 5.69.
[Section 5.68 amended: No. 16 of 2019 s. 30; No.
11 of 2023 s. 71.]