Shire proposes amendments to Community Amentity Local Law

THE Surf Coast Shire has outlined several changes it would like to make to its local laws on a range of issues, including nature strips, vapes and access to toilets.

The shire has carried out a target review of parts of its Community Amenity Local Law 2021 and prepared a series of proposed amendments, which councillors resolved to put on public exhibition at their meeting on Tuesday last week.

The changes include:

• Incorporating the shire’s reviewed Residential Nature Strip Guidelines into the Local Law, so the guidelines would be enforceable and infringements could be issued for non-compliance
• A new sub-clause to the Principal Local Law (Camping and Temporary Accommodation) for a discretionary exemption to the maximum 28-day limit if the accommodation is being used to assist persons displaced by family violence
• A new sub-clause in the Principal Local Law (Keeping of Animals) for a discretionary exemption to the maximum number of animals to be kept on a premises, if the animals are being housed for the purpose of assisting people who are displaced by family violence
• A definition for the word “smoke”, giving the word the same definition as that within the Tobacco Act 1987, so the use of e-cigarettes/vapes would be prohibited under the relevant clauses, and
• Deleting a clause in the Principal Local Law (Behaviour in Municipal Buildings) in its entirety, to remove the prohibition for people over six years old to enter a shire facility intended for use by persons of the opposite gender.

The last change is possibly the most controversial.

Officers stated it was recommended by the Gender and Equity Impact Assessment in the review, and would improve accessibility not only for families and carers but also for gender-diverse community members.

Speaking at the meeting, Cr Libby Stapleton said the change to toilet access was legally required so the shire was compliant with the federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and Victoria’s Gender Equality Act 2020.

“The removal of this clause means our facilities would be inclusive of everyone, regardless of their gender, so that people who identify as non-binary or gender diverse can use the toilets that are appropriate for them.

“It would allow parents to take their seven-year-old children into the toilet with them, or importantly, parents with disabled children [can] take them into any bathroom without breaking the law as it currently stand.

“Realistically, across the shire, we don’t expect to see major changes to the way the majority of people use our public toilets as a result of this change. Many other councils have never had this requirement in their local law; or if they did have, most of them have been removed.”

Cr Heather Wellington said she was concerned about the “omnibus” nature of the proposed amendments and did not support them.

To read the proposed changes to the Community Amenity Local Law and give feedback, head to viasurfcoast.vic.gov.au/CALL2023 before June 24.