Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Chinatown Historic Precinct Act 1984 - SCHEDULE

S. 9 PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO PECUNIARY INTERESTS

1. Disclosure of pecuniary interests



(1) If a member of the Committee has any direct or indirect pecuniary interest
in any contract or proposed contract or in any other matter in which the
Committee is concerned and is present at a meeting of the Committee at which
the contract proposed contract or matter is being considered, the member shall
as soon as practicable after the commencement of the meeting declare that
interest and leave the meeting room until debate and voting on the contract
proposed contract or matter has concluded.

(2) A member of the Committee shall not be entitled to vote on any question in
which the member has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest and the vote of
any member so interested shall be disallowed.

(3) For the purposes of this clause, a person shall be treated as having an
indirect pecuniary interest in a contract proposed contract or other matter
if-

   (a)  the person or the person's nominee is a member of a company or other
        body with which the contract is made or is proposed to be made or
        which has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the contract
        proposed contract or other matter under consideration; or





   (b)  the person is a partner of or is in the employment of a person with
        whom the contract is made or is proposed to be made or who has a
        direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the contract proposed
        contract or other matter under consideration.

(4) Notwithstanding subclause (3), a person who is a member of a company or
other body shall not, by reason only of that membership, be treated as being
so interested if the person has no beneficial interest in any shares of that
company or other body.

(5) Where a member of the Committee has an indirect pecuniary interest in any
contract proposed contract or other matter and would not be treated as having
such an interest but for the fact that the member has a beneficial interest in
shares of a company or other body and the nominal value of those shares does
not exceed $1000 or 1/100th of the total nominal value of the issue share
capital of the company or body (whichever is the less) so much of subclauses
(1) and (2) as preclude the member from taking part in the consideration or
discussion of or voting or any question with respect to the contract proposed
contract or other matter shall not apply to the member.

(6) Where the share capital of a company or other body is of more than one
class, subclause (5) shall not apply if the total nominal value of all the
shares of any one class in which the member has a beneficial interest exceeds
1/100th of the total nominal value of the issued share capital of that class
of the company or other body.





(7) In the case of married persons living together the interest of one spouse
shall, if known to the other, be deemed for the purposes of this clause to be
also an interest of that other spouse.

(8) A notice given in writing under clause 2 to the Chairman of the Committee
by a member of the Committee to the effect that the member or the member's
spouse is a member of or is in the employment of a specified company or other
body or that the member or the member's spouse is a partner of or is in the
employment of a specified person shall, until the notice is withdrawn, be
deemed to be a sufficient disclosure of the member's interest in any contract
proposed contract or other matter relating to that company or other body or to
that person which may be the subject of consideration after the date of the
notice.

(9) The Chairman of the Committee shall cause to be recorded in the register
under clause 2 particulars of any declaration of interest made under subclause
(1).

(10) A person who fails to comply with subclause (1) or (2) shall be guilty of
an offence against this Act unless the person's disability is removed under
subclause (11) or the person proves that the person did not know-

   (a)  that the person had a pecuniary interest in the contract proposed
        contract or other matter; or

   (b)  that a contract proposed contract or other matter in which the person
        had a pecuniary interest was the subject of consideration at the
        meeting.

Penalty: 10 penalty units.

(11) The Minister may, subject to such conditions as the Minister thinks fit
to impose, remove any disability from taking part in any consideration or
discussion of or voting on any question imposed by subclauses (1) and (2) in
any case in which the number of members of the Committee so disabled at any
one time would be so great a portion of the whole as to impede the transaction
of business.

(12) The power of the Minister under subclause (11) to remove any disability
imposed by subclause (1) or (2) shall include power to remove, either
indefinitely or for any period, any such disability which would otherwise
attach to a member or class of members by reason of such interests and in
respect of such matters as may be specified by the Minister.

(13) Nothing in this section shall preclude any person from taking part in the
consideration or discussion of or voting on-

   (a)  any question of whether the amount payable for goods or services
        previously supplied or provided under any contract should be paid from
        the Fund; or

   (b)  any question whether an application should be made to the Minister for
        the exercise of the powers conferred by subclause (11).

(14) A member of the Committee shall not make improper use of information
acquired by virtue of the position as member to gain directly or indirectly an
advantage for the member or for any other person or to cause detriment to the
Committee.

(15) In this clause, shares include stock and share capital shall be construed
accordingly.





2. Register of interests



(1) Every member of the Committee shall within 30 days after appointment
complete a primary return in the form approved by the Minister disclosing the
information referred to in subclause (3) and shall being the Chairman submit
the return to the Minister and in any other case submit the return to the
Chairman.

Penalty: 10 penalty units.

(2) Every member of the Committee shall on 30 June in each year or within 30
days thereafter complete an ordinary return in the form approved by the
Minister disclosing in relation to the return period the information referred
to in subclause (4) and shall being the Chairman submit the return to the
Minister and in any other case submit the return to the Chairman.

Penalty: 10 penalty units.

(3) A member of the Committee shall disclose in a primary return-

   (a)  the name of any company or other body in which on the date of the
        primary return the member held any office whether as director or
        otherwise; and

   (b)  the information as at the date of the primary return referred in
        subclause (4)(b)(c)(d) and (f).

(4) A member of the Committee shall disclose in an ordinary return-

   (a)  where the member has held an office, whether as director or otherwise
        in any company or body corporate or unincorporate-the name of that
        company or body;

   (b)  the name and description of any company partnership association or
        other body in which the member holds a beneficial interest which
        exceeds in value $500;

   (c)  the address or description of any land in which the member has a
        beneficial interest other than by way of security for any debt;

   (d)  a concise description of any trust in which the member holds a
        beneficial interest or of which the member is a trustee and in which a
        member of the member's family holds a beneficial interest;

   (e)  particulars of any gifts of or above the amount or value of $500
        received by the member from a person other than a person related to
        the member by blood or marriage; and

   (f)  any other substantial interest whether of a pecuniary nature or not of
        the member or of a member of the member's family of which the member
        is aware and which the member considers might appear to raise a
        material conflict between the member's private interest and the
        member's public duty as a member of the Committee.

(5) Where a member of the Committee has already submitted one or more ordinary
returns the member shall disclose in any second or subsequent ordinary return
any change or variation in the information disclosed in the last return
submitted by the member and any new or additional information of the kind
referred to in subclause (4) required to be disclosed but the member shall not
be required to disclose any information disclosed in a previous return.

Penalty: 10 penalty units.

(6) The Chairman shall cause a register of interests of members of the
Committee to be maintained and shall cause to be entered therein all the
information furnished to the Chairman or the Minister under this clause.

(7) The Chairman shall allow a person to inspect the register where that
person has previously made written application to the Chairman to do so.

(8) The register may be inspected at the offices of the Committee during
normal office hours.

(9) The Chairman shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that no person
other than a person who has made written application under subclause (7) has
access to or is permitted to inspect the register or any information furnished
under this clause.

(10) In this clause, return period, in relation to the ordinary return of a
member of the Committee, means-

   (a)  where the last return of the member was a primary return, the period
        between the date of the primary return and 30 June next following; and

   (b)  where the last return of the member was an ordinary return, the period
        between the date of the last return and 30 June next following.

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