MEMORANDUM
To: Helen Campbell From:
Jessica Borg Date: 3 August 2007
My task was to attempt to find a method of forcing
the Minister to explain his reasons for changing the advisory committee members
and making him publicly accountable for his conduct.
Unfortunately, under section 12 of the Redfern-Waterloo Authority
Act 2004, there is no
obligation on the Minister to provide reasons for the appointment or
termination of committee members. In fact, the only obligation imposed on the
Minister in relation to committee members is to ensure that at least 2
representatives of the Aboriginal community of the Redfern-Waterloo
area are appointed as committee members.
An extensive examination of case law
(including, in particular, case law related to comparable legislation relating
to the creation of advisory committees) failed to find any method of forcing
the Minister to provide reasons for his decision.
One possible alternative is to rely on
section 49 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997, which stipulates that an administrator who makes a reviewable decision must give
reasons for the decision upon written request by an interested person. However,
it is unclear whether section 49 applies to the Minister’s conduct regarding
committee appointments and terminations.
Aside from the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997, there does not appear
to be any other legislation which would of use in this matter.