Councils’ powers to enact local laws to contain domestic pet cats are found in:
- their inherent LG Act power to make local laws that are necessary or convenient to perform any LG function, which is in addition to any other Act authorising the local law
- the Cat Act (notwithstanding the Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation’s (JSCDL) error of law in holding that the Cat Act does not authorise cat containment)
- the Public Health Act (to protect human health from cat faeces, scratches, bites)
- the Animal Welfare Act (to protect domestic pet cats from attacks by other roaming pet cats).
Councils do not need authority of the Cat Act to make a domestic cat containment local law (although Cat Act does authorise pet cat containment local laws).
The JSCDL unreasonably keeps disallowing domestic cat containment local laws members are MPS who can be lobbied and are currently:
Chair: Ms Emily Hamilton MLA
Deputy Chair: Hon. Robin Chapple MLC
Members: Kyran O’Donnell MLC, Robyn Clarke MLA, David Honey MLA, Matthew Swinbourn MLC, Martin Pritchard MLC, Robin Scott MLC