A Notice of Motion (NOM) is a request by a Councillor for a business item to be discussed and decided upon at a Council Meeting.
A NOM cannot be accepted if it is unlawful or outside the scope of a local government to implement.
It is incorrect to suggest that a recent proposed NOM regarding confidence in the Mayor has been ‘blocked’ from the next General Meeting. A properly-made notice of motion was not received in this instance.
Each NOM Council receives is considered on its merits, for legality and if Council has the ability to make a decision on the matter that the NOM relates to.
NOMs are not blocked – there is no scope for a NOM to go ahead if it is not within a Council’s legal power to implement it.
Council’s General Counsel sought the opinion of the State Government’s Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, which agreed with the advice provided by the Local Government Association of Queensland’s King and Company Solicitors, that the proposed NOM should not be placed on Council’s General Meeting agenda.