Confusion over new councillor gift disclosure requirements has thrown another WA council into a "ludicrous" situation councillors declaring gifts results in voting quorums not being met.
A Perth business association is considering cancelling its annual awards night and other future events after its local council stopped making decisions on anything concerning the association.
Gift disclosure rules changed recently after Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi's travel scandal, with news following shortly thereafter that the WA Local Government Association had to cancel a regional meeting because accepting catering from the host shire would have thrown some councillors into breach of the rules.
At its approaching board meeting, the Central Eastern Business Association will decide whether to cancel its awards night, already delayed for a month because of confusion at the City of Bayswater.
Three City of Bayswater councillors are members of CEBA and council has been involved with the awards since 2008, previously providing major sponsorship.
When the sponsorship application came up again last month, Bayswater chief executive Francesca Lefante said councillors declared an interest as a result of new disclosure standards.
They had to leave the room and as other councillors were away, a quorum could not be reached. CEBA delayed the awards night from August to September and the item was deferred to the next meeting in July.
But again a quorum could not be reached because some councillors had accepted tickets to a CEBA awards night within the past three years, and so had to leave the room and the vote was delayed again.
But Local Government Minister Tony Simpson's office confirmed the recent changes to the law had not affected this situation - the requirement to leave the room in such a situation had already been in place since the 1980s.
Board president Greg Pound has written to the city's chief executive and council expressing the association's "disappointment" at the "ludicrous" situation.
"From what we can gather the City of Perth having their problems with people not disclosing interests has flowed to the point at which councillors are jumping around disclosing the fact that they have been to one or another function we have done," he said.
"We are a voluntary organisation and can't go forward without the sponsorship."
Ms Lefante said the matter was rescheduled for consideration at the August 2 council meeting.
"The city's administration has provided its elected members with information clarifying the required declarations of interest under the new disclosure standards," she said.
WAtoday understands councillors had to apply to Local Government Minister Tony Simpson for an exemption.
