A petition is a formally written request from residents and/or electors for action.

Your request must be something upon which the Shire of Ashburton has the power to act.

Writing guidelines

To ensure your petition meets requirements and is able to be presented before Council, the petition needs to:

• Be addressed to the Shire President, Shire of Ashburton.
• Be made by the residents and/or electors of the district.
• State the request at the top of each page of the petition and summarise your reasons for the request.
• Contain the names, addresses and signatures of the residents and/or electors making the request, and the date each resident and/or elector signed. Not including all of this information for each signature will technically make their signature invalid.
• Not contain any language that is disrespectful or likely to be defamatory to any person.
• Include a main contact name and contact details to enable follow up from Council.

Petitions and the Local Government Act

There are further requirements should your petition concern the following:

• A proposal to change the method of filling the office of President.
• A proposal to create a new district of the boundaries of local government.
• A request for a poll on a recommended amalgamation.
• A submission about changes to wards, the name of a district or ward or the number of Councillors for a district or ward.

We recommend you contact the Chief Executive Officer at the Shire of Ashburton via email [email protected] or by phone on (08) 9188 4444 as these requests need to be in a format that reflect the Local Government Act and Regulations.

On receipt of petition

Upon receiving a petition, the Shire of Ashburton will submit the petition to the relevant officer to be included in his or her deliberations and report on the matter that is the subject of the petition, subject to subclause(3). Refer to Shire of Ashburton Standing Orders.

At any meeting, the Council is not to vote on any matter that is the subject of a petition presented to that meeting, unless:

• the matter is the subject of a report included in the agenda; and
• the Council has considered the issues raised in the petition.

Petition Presentation

If you have a petition that you would like presented to the Shire of Ashburton Council, you will need to contact a Councillor and request they present the petition on your group's behalf at an upcoming Council Meeting.

Councillor Commitment

As the presenter of the petition, the Councillor will need to be familiar with the nature and content of the petition. At the Council meeting the Councillor is limited to stating:

• whom (group, organisation, etc) the petition is from;
• the petition preamble;
• the number of signatures;
• and issues contained within the petition.