The City of Greater Bendigo has released a draft Election Period Policy for public comment.
The current Election Period Policy was adopted by Council on August 19, 2020, with a review period of once per Council Term.
Director Corporate Performance Jess Howard said it was now time for the policy to be reviewed.
“The review must take place within 12 months prior to the start of an election period,” Ms Howard said.
“Although not referred to in the Local Government Act 2020, this period is commonly known as the ‘caretaker period’ and is observed by all three tiers of government.
“This draft policy has been prepared in accordance with the Local Government Act 2020 which requires Council to include special arrangements in its Governance Rules to cover an election period.
“It is applied by Council during the election period for a general election, a by-election and at other times as specified in this policy.”
The policy outlines how general elections and by-elections for Council are conducted.
This includes that:
- the election process is ethical, fair, and equitable
- ordinary business of local government will continue during the election
- a newly elected Council is not being inappropriately restricted by earlier decisions
- City resources are not being used inappropriately
- City materials do not contain matters that might affect voting at the election
Public engagement is open for four weeks until Tuesday December 5, 2023, for the community to review the draft policy and provide comments. Once the feedback is reviewed and considered, a draft Election Policy will be presented to Council in late 2023 or early 2024.