Petition

Electors of the City of Canning can present a petition for the consideration of Council.

If you feel strongly on an issue, you can present a petition to the City of Canning’s Council. Petitions must relate to matters that are within the jurisdiction of the local government and do not breach the City's Standing Orders Local Law or any other written law.

Petitions must:

• Be lodged on the petition form or through the City's ePetition 
• Be addressed to the Mayor and either delivered to the City’s Administration Building or submitted online. 
• Be made by electors of the district and contain the name, address and signature of each elector.
• State the request on each page of the petition.
• Contain a summary of the reasons for the request, and
• State the name and address of the person to whom notice to the petitioners can be given.

If your petition does not meet the City's requirements, it may be ruled out of order and not presented to Council. Instead, it may be considered a multi-signature letter and be treated as correspondence.

Getting a petition presented to Council

A petition can be submitted:

• In person at the City’s Administration Building;
• Posted to the City; or
• Electronically using the online form (ensuring any attachments are in a pdf format).

Petitions will be verified to ensure they meet the guidelines outlined above.  Petitions meeting the guidelines will then be presented at the next available Ordinary Council Meeting.

Getting an ePetition presented to Council

When an ePetition has closed, the Head Petitioner receives an email containing the details of the ePetition, including a complete list of names and addresses. 

To have the petition presented to Council, the Head Petitioner is required to submit the petition in one of the three ways listed above . It will then be presented at the next available Ordinary Council Meeting.

Please note that an ePetition is not automatically presented to Council based on its closing date.

The reading of the petition at the Ordinary Council Meeting will be limited to reading out the name and address of the initiator of the petition, a summary of the reasons for the petition along with the number of signatures contained.

At the time of presentation to Council, no discussion on the petition takes place. Council will resolve one of the following:

• That the petition be received.
• That the petition be rejected.
• That the petition be received and a report prepared for Council.
• That the petition be received and referred to the Chief Executive Officer for action.

What happens after a Petition has been presented?

Dependent upon the resolution of Council, a City Officer will inform the Head Petitioner what action Council have resolved on presentation of the petition.

Even though petitions may seem to produce no immediate or obvious result, they inform Council, in a public way, of the views of sections of the community and they serve as one means of placing community concerns before Council.

For further information on how to submit a petition or the processes involved, please contact Governance Support Team on 1300 422 664.

Requirements of a Petition – City of Canning Standing Orders Local Law 2015

4.7 Petitions

(1) A petition must—

(a) be addressed to the Mayor;
(b) be made by electors of the district;
(c) state the request on each page of the petition;
(d) contain the name, address and signature of each elector making the request;
(e) contain a summary of the reasons for the request; and
(f) state the name of the person to whom, and an address at which, notice to the petitioners can be given.

(2) The presentation of the petition must be confined to the reading of the petition.

(3) In response to a petition presented to it, the Council may resolve—

(a) that the petition be received;
(b) that the petition be rejected;
(c) that the petition be received and report prepared for the Council; or
(d) that the petition be received and referred to the CEO for action.

(4) Discussion is not permitted on any motion referred to in subclause (3).

(5) At the same meeting that a matter is presented to the Council in a petition, the Council is not to vote on the matter in the petition unless the matter is the subject of a report that is included in the agenda and that details the issues raised in the petition.