The Legislative Council has given its final approval to the Local Government Amendment bill and the ‘contentious’ clause five.
It will now be sent back to the House of Keys for its last debate and approval in the new year – if it’s passed then, the bill will go forward for Royal Assent.
The new clause five has been criticised by local authorities, but the rest of the legislation is seen as an improvement and will support their operations.
However, MLC Rob Mercer said the council ‘scrutinised’ the bill and believes the appropriate safeguards have been introduced: