ADVICE TO RATEPAYERS QUESTIONING CITY OF LAUNCESTON COUNCIL

LAUNCESTON'S ratepayers, business people and residents have the right to question their representatives on civic matters and when doing so they are well advised to address their questions to the Mayor and all Councillors. However, be advised that it has become the practice at Launceston's Town Hall for:

• The management to provide answers to Questions on Notice provided in writing on behalf of 'Councillors' and typically to do so without reference to the Councillors; and

• Management to edit and abbreviate citizens' questions without reference to the author.

With this in mind, and noting that a questioner is limited to asking just three questions,  there are a number of things a questioner can do to mitigate the inequities in these repugnant bureaucratic processes albeit that in the Local Govt. Act 1993 a General Manager (AKA CEO City of L'ton) SECTION 62/2  "The general manager may do anything necessary or convenient to perform his or her functions under this or any other Act." The following may serve a questioner well if followed taking care to:

• Ensure that the questioner provides a contextual background for each question so as to disallow whoever is answering the question addresses the question asked in context!

• Ensure that the questioner provides a contextual MORAL RIGHTS STATEMENT: For the question I am submitting to Council here, I asset my moral rights as an author under Australian copyright law. Consequently, should Council decide to either edit, paraphrase or otherwise alter my question it will cease to be my question and therefore it must not be attributed to me under any circumstance. Always remembering that the Local Govt' Act does not override copyright laws and as a questioner you are an 'author' and consequently the Act protects you as the question's author.

• Ensure that each question is a single sentence, without contextual content, and is ideally 150 words or less so as to avoid any ambiguity.

Also when posing your question, given that 'management' is likely to answer it, questioners are well advised to provide their questions via email to the mailing list below in order that should they believe that they are being poorly served they have provided themselves with a background to challenge the answers provided and make an evidence based objection to the Minister for Local Govt et al.

THE CURRENT EMAIL LIST

Contact Us contactus@launceston.tas.gov.au
Street, Minister Minister.Street@dpac.tas.gov.au
Minister Guy Barnett guy.barnett@parliament.tas.gov.au
Local Government Division localgovernment@dpac.tas.gov.au
Ferguson, Michael michael.ferguson@parliament.tas.gov.au>
Mayor Matthew Garwood matthew.garwood@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor George Razay george.razay@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor Joe Pentridge joe.pentridge@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor Hugh McKenzie Hugh.Mckenzie@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor Andrea Dawkins andrea.dawkins@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor Andrew Palmer andrew.palmer@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor Lindi McMahon lindi.mcmahon@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor Alan Harris alan.harris@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor Tim Walker tim.walker@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor Susie Cai susie.cai@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor Alex Britton alex.britton@launceston.tas.gov.au
Councillor Danny Gibson danny.gibson@launceston.tas.gov.au
Shane Eberhardt Shane.Eberhardt@launceston.tas.gov.au