Presenting a petition
In order for a petition to be considered at an Ordinary Meeting of MidCoast Council, it must be received a minimum of 10 business days prior to the meeting.
A petition must:
- Be legible and contain no alterations.
- Be in English.
- Be clearly written, typed or printed and not have anything attached to it.
- Contain the request of the petitioner(s).
- State the subject of the petition on the header of each page.
- Contain the names and addresses of the petitioner(s) and their original signatures which must not be pasted or otherwise transferred /copied to the petition. Any additional information such as telephone numbers or e-mails, should be clearly listed as optional.
- Contain a statement advising petitioner(s) that the petition along with their personal details provided may be made public as it is considered at a Council Meeting. It may also be the subject of any Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 application.
- Pages should be prepared so that there are the same number of signatures on each page. This will assist in determining the total number of signatures.
- Contain at least one signature on the same sheet as the request.
- Nominate a contact person for Council to contact as Council will not be able to respond to all petitioners
- Be respectful and not contain irrelevant or defamatory statements.
- Be received only as the petition of the parties signing it.
- Be addressed to the General Manager – MidCoast Council.
- Conclude with a request that Council do, or not do, something or take some course of action.
- Be in an original document format, not a postcard, leaflet or the like.
A petition must not:
- Have letters, affidavits, or other documents attached to it.
- Be altered in any way from the petition as signed by the petitioner(s)
- Contain language that is disrespectful to individuals or organisations.
- Be compiled via electronic means such as change.org.
- Contain requests for items that are not under Council’s jurisdiction