10 September 2024

Prepoll is in full swing

Prepoll is in full swing and councils are in caretaker mode but it’s a good opportunity to thank all our incredible council staff for their work in this busy period and right throughout the year. The local government workforce is full of passionate, dedicated and highly skilled professionals and on behalf of all the elected bodies, I express our gratitude for everything they do. It doesn’t go unnoticed. 

In this last week of the term of our councils, if you’re not standing for election again, we encourage you to stay connected to LGNSW so you can stay updated on key developments for councils and receive alerts about opportunities to continue your contribution to our sector. We also understand that some mayors and/or councillors are standing again but may not be successful at Saturday’s election too.

As experienced elected representatives, you still have so much to offer. LGNSW is regularly seeking former mayors and councillors to:

• act as a mentor or coach
• be a Panel member / speaker for information sessions and events
• facilitate training.

If you’d like to be kept informed about future opportunities, please fill out your details below. please fill in your details online here.

Consultation open: Councillor Conduct Framework 
I acknowledged the release last week of the Councillor Conduct Framework Discussion Paper, as it’s the much-anticipated next step in the consultation process. While I’m pleased there’s an extended period for comment, it is still insufficient time for councils to properly consider the proposals and formulate a response and position, especially with a local government election, a prolonged declaration of polls, and then often a delay before Councils meet for the first time. With that in mind, we will be writing to the Government highlighting the insufficient time for review and formally requesting an extension. I will keep you all updated.

Our sector had been anticipating the release of the framework and I’m sure we all welcome any move that will ensure the highest standards of integrity and probity across all levels of government. This issue has long been the subject of discussion for councils and the eventual framework will be a key cornerstone in maintaining integrity, transparency, and trust in local government across our state. We welcome the next step in the consultation process. I look forward to working with councils to hear their feedback and liaising with the Minister and the Government to ensure we get a result that works for everyone. 

Ultimately, we want to see a framework that allows councils to carry out their functions efficiently and appropriately, will provide clear expectations to elected officials, and confidence for our communities that we are serving them to the highest possible standards. While some aspects will need to be approached with caution and the provision of more detail, there are several potential improvements for our sector. 

As the financial sustainability of councils becomes an increasing concern for all of us, it’s good to see that this framework may lead to a reduction in costs to councils by way of removing the contentious role of private investigators. Instead, complaints about conflicts of interest would be made directly to the OLG and complaints about misbehaviour would be made directly to a Local Government Privileges Committee. 

The proposed framework would also give mayors greater powers to sanction councillors for acts of disorder during meetings, but we currently understand significant sanctions (such as suspension, financial penalties or disqualification) will only be made by an appropriate tribunal (such as NCAT). This is a vast improvement to the current arrangements, where such penalties are made by a NSW Government official, often a substantial period of time after the event. 

However, LGNSW is concerned about the proposal to ban closed council briefing sessions provided by staff. The NSW Government privately briefs Opposition and Crossbench MPs on draft legislation before it’s tabled in parliament and Ministers receive briefings from their staff, as well as departmental officers, as part of the process pf preparing draft bills and motions for consideration and before debating matters in parliament too of course. These private briefings lead to better informed MPs and more informed decision making once a matter comes to the public forum in parliament. Any move to ban private briefings would have significant adverse impacts on councillors’ opportunity to be fully informed prior to decision making during a council meeting.

I know this is a busy time for our sector as we face council elections this Saturday, but I encourage all councils to look closely at the discussion paper and put forward a submission before 15 November.

A copy of the Councillor Conduct Framework Discussion Paper and more details on the consultation process can be found on the OLG website. 

Farewell and thank you - Departing Board members 
I’d like to express my heartfelt appreciation to departing LGNSW Board Members Jamie Chaffey, Scott Ferguson and Cameron Waters who are leaving us at the end of this council term. I sincerely thank them for their considered contributions and steadfast advocacy for the local government sector. I wish them all the very best for their future endeavours. 

I particularly want to thank Jamie Chaffey who, as an LGNSW Director and as Chair of the Country Mayors’ Association, has been an incredibly fierce and fearless advocate for our rural, regional and remote councils.

Councillor Linda Scott officially finished her term as ALGA President yesterday, 9 September. On behalf of the 128 councils across NSW, I thank Linda for her incredible service and wish her all the best for the future. 

Budget Estimates 
As many of you may be aware, Minister Hoenig, along with senior staff from the Office of Local Government and other relevant government departments, appeared before Budget Estimates hearing last Thursday. Over the course of several hours, the Minister and staff answered a range of questions and I encourage you to take a look through the hearing transcript summary, the following topics were discussed:

• De-amalgamations
• Upcoming local government elections
• Cat management inquiry and other companion animal issues
• Governance issues at several councils
• Councillor Conduct Framework Discussion Paper
• The Parliamentary Inquiry into the financial sustainability of councils
• Increased budget and potential restructure for the Office of Local Government
• Local government childcare workers
• Local government grant programs
• Foreign policy discussions at local councils
• New England Weeds Authority
• Apprentice and traineeships for local government 

I was particularly pleased to hear the Minister indicate his intention that the apprentice and traineeship program would be rolled out “early next year”, and that he recognises the unique needs of rural and regional councils with the scheme. LGNSW staff have been meeting with the OLG and other key stakeholders to help formulate the guidelines and I look forward to updating you more in coming weeks. 

Early childhood education and care – Federal Government wage increase 
You may have seen the recent announcement from the federal government regarding a wage increase for the early childhood education and care sector. Many local governments in NSW provide this valuable service to their communities and LGNSW is pleased to see the federal government acknowledge the importance of supporting and strengthening this sector.

LGNSW is working with ALGA through the federal Department of Education to ensure the local government sector is appropriately supported as key stakeholder. Funding guidelines are expected in September.

More information, including FAQs can be found online.

Growing Regions Fund  
Rural and regional councils are eligible to apply now for funding for community infrastructure projects under Round 2 of the Australian Government’s Growing Regions Program.

For Round 2, $393 million in funding is available for capital works projects such as libraries, parks, multi-purpose community centres, and sport and cultural facilities that enhance liveability, bolster social cohesion and support local amenity.

Councils can apply for funding of between $500,000 and $15 million. Lower co-funding requirements are in place to support councils with a low-rate base.

Applications close 10 October 2024, further details and application available online. 

Sincerely,

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