Less than three months after the 2012 Cowra Shire Council elections, ratepayers may be forced back to the polls after one of its recently installed councillors has been forced to step down from the position.
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The number of Cowra Shire councillors is down to eight due to the departure this week of Sue Maynes.
Documents obtained by the Cowra Guardian reveal a sequestration order was made on the estate of Lindsay and Sue Maynes in Sydney last week.
It was the result of legal proceedings from District Court, Court of Appeal and High Court hearings.
A spokeswoman for the Division of Local Government said that by law, a bankrupt councillor must step down and a by-election must be held within three months.
"Where a councillor is declared bankrupt, a vacancy automatically occurs in their civic office," she said.
"Under the Local Government Act 1993, a by-election must be held within three months after the vacancy occurs."
Cowra Shire Council's spokesperson issued a statement regarding the development:
"Following legal proceedings against a recently-elected Councillor on Cowra Shire Council, Councillor Sue Maynes has been disqualified from her position on Council," the statement advised.
"The disqualification follows Cr Maynes being declared bankrupt by the Federal Magistrates Court from November 1, 2012.
"Under the Local Government Act 1993, a person is disqualified from holding civic office while disqualified from managing a corporation under Part 2D.6 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth).
“Under section 652 of the Local Government Act, it is an offence for a person to act in civic office while disqualified.
"A by-election will need to be held under Section 291 of the Local Government Act as soon as practicable to fill the casual vacancy left by the disqualification."
The Cowra Guardian has attempted to contact Ms Maynes but so far has not had a direct response.
Ms Maynes posted on her ‘Sue Maynes for Local Council’ Facebook page her response to the developments.
It was far more detailed than her answers in September when she was first questioned about the matter.
“We are not bankrupt, we do not intend to be bankrupted for that amount of money and certainly not by an entity who holds no authority to do so,” Ms Maynes said via email to the Cowra Guardian just prior to the election.
Ms Maynes’ response via Facebook here.