Prospective council
19 Prospective council
This section applies if:
(a) the Administrator intends to constitute a local government area under section 16(1)(a) or divide a local government area into 2 or more local government areas under section 16(1)(c); or
(b) the Minister intends to divide a local government area into 2 or more local government areas under section 16(2).
(2) The Administrator or the Minister may, by Gazette notice, establish a prospective council under the name to be assigned to the council for the intended local government area before exercising the power mentioned in subsection (1).
The prospective council:
is a body corporate with perpetual succession; and
has a common seal; and
(c) is capable of acquiring, holding and disposing of real property (including leasehold) and personal property and of suing and being sued.
(4) All courts, judges and persons acting judicially are to take judicial notice of the common seal of the prospective council affixed to a document and are to assume that it was duly affixed.
(5) The prospective council is constituted by the person appointed under subsection (6) until the prospective council becomes the council or otherwise ceases to exist.
(6) The Administrator or the Minister may, by Gazette notice, appoint a person to constitute the prospective council.
(7) A prospective council established under subsection (2) has, subject to section 19A, full power to transact any business or do anything else as if:
(a) the prospective council were the council for the intended local government area; and
(b) the local government area had been constituted under section 16(1)(a).
(8) When a local government area is constituted for the area for which the prospective council is established:
(a) the prospective council becomes the council for the local government area and all rights, liabilities and obligations of the prospective council become the rights, liabilities and obligations of the local government council; and
(b) the person appointed to constitute the prospective council under subsection (6) constitutes the local government council until the day after the day on which the result of the general election for the council for the local government area is declared.
Note for section 19
The Minister must call a general election for an area if the area is newly constituted under section 134.
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