Latest news with #LocalGovernmentAct
Perth Now
a day ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Contractor misses out on $5m job despite highest rating
A Maddington business has asked why it was not awarded a $5.3 million local government contract despite receiving the highest assessment score. Dowsing was one of four groups that put in a bid for the three-year contract with the City of Cockburn to provide in situ concreting, such as footpaths, shared use paths, crossovers and concrete pads or footings. It was given an assessment score of 80 out of 100, but at its July 8 meeting the council gave the job to Axiis Contracting, which scored 79.94. Bids were assessed on experience, resources, methodology, sustainability, if they were local, and their price. The city's evaluation panel, which comprises six city officers, recommended Axiis because it considered its bid had the least risk or chance of variations, and the group had better references. 'Reference checking on Axiis Contracting referred to positive comments reflecting timely and quality work outcomes with no hidden charges,' its report said. 'Reference checking on Dowsing scored less than Axiis Contracting with potential issues raised for operators and their approach to safety. Overall a positive reference was provided.' Dowsing WA operations manager Sam Dowsing told the council he was surprised to read Axiis' references were rated as more favourable than Dowsing's and asked if they could be independently validated. 'This is not our experience talking to the market that we both serve in,' he said. 'In 40 years of business serving local governments, we've never seen a recommendation contradict the outcome of the tender assessment. 'We'd like to question the integrity of the over-ride of the outcome of the extensive assessment criteria, given Dowsing scored the highest ranking.' Infrastructure services manager Anton Lees said the city had followed Local Government Act regulations when assessing bids for the contract. He said the city had carried out reference checking on Axiis. 'We've taken that information on board and obviously provided that recommendation in the report on those references,' Mr Lees said. On its website, Dowsing says it has an 'uncompromising focus on high-quality workmanship, safety and creating positive outcomes'. It has been operating since 1985 and Axiis since 2013. Both groups are based in Maddington. No bids were received from groups based within the city or Perth South Metropolitan Alliance region.
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Opinion: community wellbeing about more than roads and water
Because of climate change, South Dunedin needs several billion dollars spent on it, either in costs that will be borne by those who live there, or in prevention by many more of us who don't. It's critical that whatever is done, the wellbeing of the nearly 10,000 people who live there is considered as much as the money. Our sense of home and shared spaces is bound intimately into our health — physical and mental — and our opportunity for fulfilled lives, individually and together. Perhaps some of this money might have been saved if at every local body election, the electorate hadn't swung hard at the "keep rates low" target; meaning maintenance and smart upgrades were constantly deferred. It's the "wicked cycle" of voting, electing, feeling like not much is happening, building frustration, diminishing trust, lower turnout, curdling into resentment about councillor pay and public expenditure for others (some loathe the stadium, others think DPAG should charge an entrance fee), while the deferred maintenance mounts up. Partly, it's that most of us don't understand how much decision-making is out of councillors' hands, to a degree we'd never put up with in central government. It's hard to get stuff done in local government. But the thing is, we live here together. The four wellbeings — social, economic, cultural, and environmental — baked into the Local Government Act really matter. Do the bus routes make sense and is there a stop near yours? Are there speed limits outside your children's school? Does your significantly older community have an immensely popular swimming pool for physio, exercise, connection? Are there playgrounds near your children's home, do your kids adore reading time at the library? Is there an arts / film / music festival? Fireworks at New Year? These are the places where we come together and are Dunedin, and what makes Dunedin a great place to live. Yet here we are again, with government looking to remove the four wellbeings in favour of roads and water, which are somehow neutral of quiet neighbourhoods, accessible parks, safe schools, community, belonging. As if we were not people but units. But if the DCC or ORC don't take care of this ... who will? If you would like to support the mission's work with a donation, please visit and search for the Methodist Mission.
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
‘Punjab to review PFC Award after new LG Act's implementation'
LAHORE: Punjab Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman on Tuesday said that a new Local Government Act is being introduced, and once implemented, the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) Award will be reviewed. While responding to Amjad Ali Javed in Punjab Assembly Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman said that PML-N has always stood in favour of Local Government rights. Earlier, Amjad Ali Javed complained that his committee cannot even pay electricity bills. Criticizing the corrupt state of banks, he said employees are not receiving their salaries. He questioned the Finance Minister, asking how much longer it will take to receive the Provincial Finance Commission Award (PFC) Award after eight years of waiting. 'Can the Finance Minister provide a clear timeframe?' he asked. PML (N) MPA Ahmed Ahsan Iqbal while speaking on the floor of the House said that Secretary of Local Government is saying that the current situation id extremely dire. Hr also said that the Local Government has no funds left. He emphasized that the responsibilities assigned by the federation to the provinces should similarly be delegated by the provinces to municipal committees, but institutions are not receiving their due rights. He raised the question of which establishment is obstructing the implementation of third-tier governance. The session started 1 hour 46 minutes late under the chair of the Acting Speaker Malik Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channar. During a session of the Punjab Assembly, government member Mumtaz Ali Chang delivered a fiery speech, demanding that the Crime Control Department (CCD) conduct operations in the Kacha area. He highlighted a recent incident in Nawazabad where a man named Hamza was killed, two others were injured, and one went missing due to dacoit firing. Chang stated, 'First, clean your own house. The CCD should also establish a unit in the Kacha area.' He further demanded the formation of a committee to investigate the killings of innocent people and the registration of false cases against them. Asserting that 'justice will restore the Assembly's dignity,' Chang defended his role as a public servant, stating that he actively participates in welfare work. He praised the Chief Minister of Punjab for establishing the CCD, which has reduced fear in areas previously considered inaccessible. He also commended the peace festival organized by the Punjab Governor in the Kacha area on the 11th of this month. Chang questioned why the CCD and Anti-Corruption Department were not conducting operations in the Katcha area despite having the authority. He alleged that police officials owning land in the region were sabotaging operations. 'If the Prime Minister and Chief Minister can go to jail, why can't the dacoits of Kacha?' he asked. He further claimed that reports indicate some notorious police officers are supporting dacoits in the area. Acting Speaker Zaheer Iqbal Channar sought a report on police officials occupying land in the Katcha area, directing that it be presented in the Assembly to identify those involved. He emphasized, 'Identify the dacoits occupying the Katcha area. Separately, Mumtaz Chang raised concerns about the loans and facilities being offered by Punjab Bank Rahim Yar Khan, stating, 'If we don't know what loans this bank is giving, how will the public know?' He urged the government to inform citizens through advertisements. Government member Ahmed Ahsan Iqbal criticized the Bank of Punjab during the session, stating that its reports are not being presented to the Public Accounts Committee. He said, 'The Bank of Punjab always resists in this matter,' adding that the Assembly has the right to know what privileges are being given to the bank's CEO. Meanwhile, the 26 suspended opposition members of the Punjab Assembly have been reinstated. This decision came as a result of successful negotiations between the government and the opposition following their suspension during the budget speech of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. Provincial Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman submitted a request in the assembly for the restoration of the opposition members, upon which Acting Speaker Punjab Assembly Zahr Iqbal Channar immediately ordered their reinstatement. The assembly secretariat also issued a notification confirming the restoration. According to details, on June 27, opposition members created a ruckus during the speech of Punjab Minister Maryam Nawaz, leading to verbal clashes and physical altercations. Following the incident, the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly suspended 26 opposition members for 15 sittings. Later, government members submitted four applications to the Speaker, requesting the Election Commission to issue disqualification notices against the opposition members. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The Age
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Look who's back – and with back pay after escaping conviction
That's due to Section 229 of the Local Government Act clause (6): 'A councillor who is no longer stood down under subsection (1) is entitled to their allowance, including any allowance previously withheld under subsection (4), unless the councillor is convicted of the offence.' Agirtan, a tax manager, pointed out at the time that her court-ordered donation was tax-deductible. We sought comment from her but didn't hear back. The council confirmed the back payment. And while she was suspended from the council, nothing could suspend her from social media during that period, which included a reference to her critics 'sucking each other off in the comments on the City of Kingston post'. Positively Trumpian in its eloquence. Back to the benches A mere 11 weeks after the May 3 election, federal parliament has returned. Everyone wanted to put their feet up after that gruelling election campaign, we guess. Or hike the Great Wall of China. The pollies slowly began to trickle back to Canberra, and on Sunday night, CBD's spies spotted Labor frontbenchers Murray Watt, Jenny McAllister and Tim Ayres enjoying a pre-sitting dinner at the restaurant Compa in the Canberra Centre. Expect more of that. During the downtime, CBD brought you several updates about the great staffer exodus, and had some sport at the expense of the PM's chief of staff, Tim Gartrell, for what we thought was his weirdly school-prefect attitude to his underlings oversharing happy snaps with the prime minister on social media. Obligations under the ministerial staff code of blah blah blah, you understand. We live in a Zoomer generation after all. If it is not posted on LinkedIn, did you even have a job? But maybe he had a point: word has reached CBD of a former staffer whose profile on the romantic-encounter social media site Hinge once included a selfie with … the prime minister. Anthony 'Aphrodisiac' Albanese. Somehow we don't think so. PvO's Hollow State The period following a federal election brings the inevitable flurry of political tomes by our various pundits. Last month, CBD revealed that formidable columnist Niki Savva would be releasing a new book, appropriately titled Earthquake, just in time to send seismic rumbles through various Liberal Party Christmases. Also getting in on the act is University of Western Australia politics professor and Daily Mail Australia political editor Peter van Onselen. His new book, The Hollow State: Power Without Purpose in Australian Politics, is due for an October release by niche right-leaning press Wilkinson Publishing. It feels a slight step down from Hachette, which published PvO's 2021 book on Scott Morrison, but then again, PvO's own recent career arc has been a little chaotic. He went from The Australian and Sky News to Network Ten and The Project before joining Daily Mail Australia last year. Van Onselen has been a pundit whose notable career highlights included instances of being prominently wrong (his 'kisses of death' were the stuff of legend), but even we were amused to find this 2022 headline: 'Does Peter van Onselen have the kiss of death? How political guru predicted the 'future of Australian politics' in a single photo ... and got it VERY wrong' published in, er, Daily Mail Australia. He quit as Network Ten's political editor in 2023, and was then successfully sued by his former employer for breaching a non-disparagement clause in his redundancy agreement (an agreement under which he trousered $165,000) by writing an article in The Australian calling the broadcaster 'the minnow of Australian television'. Loading To be fair, he was technically right about that one, as Ten's ratings and financial performance has shown, but in our experience the negative commentary in The Australian about Ten used to be inversely proportionate to how much of the network was owned by The Australian 's boss of bosses, Lachlan Murdoch. PvO told us his new book was some years in the making, a lament at the hollowing out of modern politics by those on both sides of the aisle that he hoped would be 'half-scholarly, half-populist'.
The Star
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Community service for offences under Local Government Act not slavery, asserts Nga
KUALA LUMPUR: Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming has defended the proposal for community service as a penalty under the Local Government Act, stating it does not equate to slavery. Addressing the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (July 21), Nga emphasised that the Federal Constitution upholds basic human rights. "I beg to differ. The Federal Constitution guarantees basic human rights, but for offences that have been convicted in the court, it is not a form of slavery," he asserted while concluding the debate on amendments to the Local Government Act, which include introducing mandatory community service for littering offences. During the debate, Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) expressed concerns that community service could be seen as a form of slavery and potentially unconstitutional. "According to the Bill, community service is defined as an unpaid job or service. I understand that any work that is not paid can bring an element of forced slavery," he argued, suggesting that some form of allowance be provided to avoid categorisation as slavery. The proposed Bill introduces subsection 104a(1), which empowers courts to issue a community service order for individuals convicted of breaching by-laws under the Act.
