(1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be a board which shall be called
the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales.
(2) The board shall consist
of 9 members of whom:
(a) one shall be the person for the time being holding
the office of Surveyor-General,
(b) one is to be the Secretary of the
Department of Planning and Environment or an employee of that Department
nominated by the Secretary,
(c) one is to be the person employed in the
Public Service as the State Librarian or a member of staff of the Library
Council of New South Wales nominated by the State Librarian,
(d) one is to be
a person employed in the Department nominated by the Secretary, and
(e) 5
people (in this Act referred to as
"appointed members" ) shall be appointed by the Governor.
(3) The
Surveyor-General shall be the chairperson of the board.
(3A) The person
referred to in subsection (2) (d) shall be the deputy chairperson of the
board.
(4) Of the appointed members:
(a) one shall be a person nominated by
the governing body of the Local Government and Shires Association of New South
Wales,
(b) one shall be a person nominated by the governing body of the Royal
Australian Historical Society,
(c) one shall be a person nominated by the
governing body of the Geographical Society of New South Wales, and
(d) one
shall be a person nominated by the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council,
and
(e) one is to be a person nominated by the Chief Executive Officer of
Multicultural NSW.
(5) If within the time specified in a notice sent by the
Minister to the bodies or a body entitled to make a nomination for the purpose
of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (4) a person is not nominated by
those bodies or that body, the Governor may appoint any suitable person to be
a member of the board in the place of that firstmentioned person.
(6) Subject
to this section the appointed members shall hold office for such period (not
exceeding 5 years) as is specified in the member's instrument of appointment
and shall be eligible for reappointment.
(8)
(a) The chairperson shall
preside at all meetings of the board at which he or she is present.
(b) In
the absence of the chairperson the deputy chairperson shall preside.
(c) If
both the chairperson and the deputy chairperson are absent from any meeting of
the board the members present shall appoint one of their number to preside at
that meeting.
(9)
(a) The procedure for the calling of meetings of the board
and for the conduct of business at such meetings shall, subject to any
regulation in relation thereto and this Act, be as determined by the board.
(b) At any meeting of the board five members shall form a quorum.
(c) Every
question before the board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of
the members present at a meeting of the board.
(d) The person presiding at
any meeting of the board shall have a deliberative vote and, in the event of
an equality of votes, a second or casting vote.
(10)
(a) The Governor may,
for any cause which to him or her seems sufficient, remove any appointed
member from office.
(b) An appointed member shall be deemed to have vacated
his or her office if he or she:
(i) dies,
(ii) resigns his or her office in
writing under his or her hand addressed to the Governor,
(iii) becomes a
mentally incapacitated person,
(iv) absents himself or herself from three
consecutive meetings of the board of which reasonable notice has been given to
him or her either personally or in the ordinary course of post unless on leave
granted by the board or unless he or she is before the expiration of five
weeks after the last of such meetings excused by the board for his or her
absence from such meetings,
(v) ceases to reside in the State, or
(vi)
becomes bankrupt, compounds with his or her creditors or makes an assignment
of his or her salary or estate for their benefit.
(11) If a vacancy occurs in
the office of an appointed member, the Governor may appoint a person to the
vacant office who shall hold office for the remainder of his or her
predecessor's term of office.
(12)
(a) In the case of illness or absence of
any member of the board, other than an appointed member, the person who for
the time being is performing the duties of the office by virtue of which that
member is a member shall be the deputy of that member and shall act in the
place of that member during his or her illness or absence, except where that
member has approved of another person acting, or nominated another person to
act, in his or her place.
(b) In the case of illness or absence of any
appointed member, the board may, by instrument in writing, appoint a deputy to
act in the place of such member during his or her illness or absence.
(c) Any
person who is or is appointed the deputy of a member under this subsection
may, while he or she acts as such deputy, exercise all the powers and
authorities of the member in whose place he or she acts.
(13) No act or
proceeding of the board shall be invalidated or prejudiced by reason only of
the fact that at the time when such act or proceeding was done, taken or
commenced, there was a vacancy or vacancies in the office or offices of any
member or members.
(14) Each appointed member shall, if he or she is not
employed in the Public Service, be entitled to receive such fees for attending
meetings and transacting business of the board as the Minister may determine.
(15) Each member of the board shall be entitled to receive such travelling
expenses as the Minister may determine.
(16) The
Government Sector Employment Act 2013 shall not apply to or in respect of the
appointment by the Governor of any member of the board, and no member shall,
in his or her capacity as such member, be subject to the provisions of such
Act during his or her term of office.
