24 September 2024

Rural and Remote Councils Bill

The Local Government Amendment (Rural and Remote Councils) Bill 2024 passed parliament last week, setting out a pathway to the return of democracy for Central Darling Shire after more than a decade under administration.

Under the proposed model, the Minister for Local Government will appoint half of the councillors, and the chair. Minister Hoenig advises the roll out for Central Darling Shire will occur in the first half of 2025.

I’ve previously noted the unique circumstances of Central Darling Shire and LGNSW’s position is that this model must not be expanded to any further councils.

I was pleased that the Bill that passed parliament includes a greater safeguard against misuse of this model. This was due to amendments proposed by Shadow Minister for Local Government Wendy Tuckerman, which were supported by the NSW Government.

These amendments serve to only allow these types of decisions to be made by Ministers through regulation rather than proclamation, effectively introducing the possibility of parliament disallowing any future expansion of this governance model to other councils.

I thank Minister Hoenig and Shadow Minister Tuckerman for their engagement and focus on this important development for Central Darling Shire.

Federal Productivity Commission report into early childhood education and care

The Productivity Commission has released its inquiry report into the early childhood education and care sector (ECEC), A path to universal early childhood education and care.

I welcome recommendations to create ECEC services that are accessible, within the means of all families, equitable, and inclusive for all children.

The report makes several key recommendations, including two that align with LGNSW’s advocacy:

• Establish an advisory group, including local government, to achieve better outcomes in funding and administrating ECEC services, and
• Funding for ECEC to ensure services are established in response to community need.

It’s also reassuring that employees in this sector have not been forgotten, with recommendations to support the ECEC workforce by offering improved professional development and better career pathways for those already in the sector.

LGNSW looks forward to partnering with the Australian and NSW governments to work towards universal childcare. We’ll continue to advocate for investment in ECEC that recognises the important role of councils in this sector.

Ticketless parking fines

Last week, the NSW Government announced legislative reforms to force councils to issue on-the-spot, hardcopy notices for parking penalties.

It’s extremely disappointing that LGNSW was not consulted on the draft legislation before last week’s announcement, despite having engaged with the government and the sector on the issue for some time. While we have raised councils' issues in discussions with the Minister’s office, as yet, we’ve been unable to review a copy of the draft Bill.

If not drafted appropriately, we’re concerned that any legislative changes could run the risk of worsening the safety and logistical consequences for councils and their staff.

Our greatest concern is the very real risk to the safety and wellbeing of compliance officers. One of the main reasons many councils introduced ticketless fines in the first place was to reduce the incidence of verbal and physical abuse of employees.

There are also significant financial and logistical implications. We know that councils across the state have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into technology, cars, cameras and software. These parking reforms would significantly impact council budgets.

Additionally, there’s an element of double standards when the NSW Government continues to issue ticketless fines for its own safety initiatives, including more than 500 cameras enforcing road rules with fines of a higher value and involving a loss of demerit points. It was only a few weeks ago that the NSW Government announced its own expansion of ticketless speeding fines with the roll out of point-to-point cameras.

We support workable options, but strongly oppose any legislative changes that would increase safety risks and costs to our communities. We look forward to reviewing the draft Bill and working with the government through the parliamentary process to represent our members.

Alcohol consumption in public places

The parliamentary inquiry into the Alcohol Consumption in Public Places (Liberalisation) Bill 2024 published its report on Friday.

LGNSW does not support this private members’ Bill which, if passed, would essentially remove the ability of councils to apply outdoor alcohol restrictions.

We provided a submission and appeared at the inquiry, with the committee hearing compelling reasons as to why local councils are well placed to make the decisions about public alcohol restrictions for their local areas.

There’s a misconception that alcohol is prohibited in all parks and public places, but this is not the case. There are many beautiful public parks across NSW where it is perfectly legal to responsibly consume alcohol.

In establishing outdoor alcohol restrictions, councils consult broadly with their communities and with NSW Police to ensure the placement of these areas is appropriate, justified and supported. These decisions are based on community requests and a range of other factors, including reports of alcohol-related anti-social behaviour and crime statistics.

I’m pleased that the committee listened to LGNSW’s submission and appearance at the inquiry and acknowledged that councils were well placed to make these decisions.

Annual Conference Motions and Registrations

I sincerely thank the many members who have submitted motions for the 2024 LGNSW Annual Conference. So far we’ve received more than 130 motions concerning a range of key priorities for our sector.

In line with the LGNSW rules, the latest date members can submit motions for potential inclusion in the Conference Business Paper is Sunday 20 October 2024. Further information is available online.

Could I also remind any council that has not yet registered their attendees and voting delegates to consider doing so as expediently as possible please once polls are declared.

Applications open for NSW Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing

The NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) is welcoming applications for multiple part-time vacancies on the Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing (MACA).

Council members advise the Minister on issues affecting older people, their families and their communities.

The DCJ is particularly encouraging applications from people in rural areas, culturally and linguistically diverse and indigenous backgrounds.

Applications close on Friday 11 October 2024 at 11.59pm AEST.

More information and how to apply

Sincerely,

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