Pettet v Van Der Merwe

Pettet v Van Der Merwe involves a dispute over the eligibility of a candidate in a local government election in New South Wales. The applicant, Pettet, who was a resident of the Municipality of Willoughby, challenged the eligibility of the respondent, Van Der Merwe, who was also a resident of the municipality and who had been elected as an alderman. Pettet argued that Van Der Merwe was ineligible to stand for election because he had failed to vote in two successive local government elections prior to the election in which he was standing. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether a candidate's failure to vote in two consecutive local government elections rendered them ineligible to stand for election. The relevant legislation, the Local Government Act, provided that a person was not eligible to stand for election if they had failed to vote in two successive local government elections. The court was required to determine whether this provision applied to the respondent, and whether his failure to vote in the two previous elections rendered him ineligible to stand for election.

The court held that the respondent's failure to vote in two successive local government elections did not render him ineligible to stand for election. The court found that the provision in the Local Government Act applied only to those who had failed to vote in two successive local government elections prior to the election in which they were standing. The court found that the respondent had not failed to vote in two successive local government elections prior to the election in which he was standing, as he had voted in the election immediately preceding the one in which he was standing. The court dismissed the application for leave to adduce evidence, and the application for leave to appeal.