31 January 2022
There’s been little rest for our councils and staff over the last month as they held their first meetings following the declaration of local government elections on 23 December. My congratulations to all those elected as Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Committee Representatives: you will all do a terrific job in delivering for your communities over the next 12 months, and I look forward to working with you.
It hasn’t been the easiest of kick-offs, with intense pressure on council budgets in the wake of the record-low 0.7% baseline rate cap handed down by IPART. The rate cap calculation methodology fails to recognise the current skyrocketing cost of commodities, including fuel costs and construction materials, contract and Award-mandated wage increases and comes hot on the heels of revenue losses due to COVID lockdowns and operational restrictions. Individual shortfalls range between $100,000 and $2 million, and will inevitably require cuts to infrastructure, services and jobs for councils now forced to re-cast their 2022-23 budget. LGNSW has written to our new Local Government Minister Wendy Tuckerman to put the issue at the very top of the agenda in our discussions.
In this difficult environment it is critical that the NSW Government maintain and extend funding programs that support locally led recovery, and LGNSW this week lodged its Pre-Budget Submission with the NSW Treasury.
See our budget submission
Our submission presents a constructive plan to create more than 60,000 jobs in NSW, many of them in regional NSW, while delivering public good and helping to achieve key state outcomes.
Treasurer to speak at Special Conference
Hot off the press: NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has confirmed he will headline the Economic Outlook panel at our upcoming Special Conference, (28 Feb – 2 March). Minister Kean, who also holds the Energy portfolio, will be the first State Treasurer to speak at an LGNSW Conference - a milestone that couldn’t be more timely given the financial sustainability issues outlined above. The panel will no doubt give the Treasurer a run for his money, with Shadow Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, Hornsby Mayor Phillip Ruddock AO and Newcastle Mayor Nuatali Nelmes also taking the stage to discuss and debate the economic way forward. It follows a keynote address by one of Australia’s most experienced and thoughtful finance and economic commentators, Michael Pascoe, and is a not-to-be missed conference session.
A gentle reminder to all councils to register their Nominated Voting Delegates for the conference by 5pm (AEDT) on Thursday 17 February. The delayed local government elections and declaration of results created a serious time crunch for our newly elected and re-elected councillors over the traditional summer period, as they conclude critical procedural votes for mayors, deputy mayors and committee representation. Determining Nominated Voting Candidates is another important decision for initial meeting agendas and it is important to ensure your council gets to have a say on the sector’s advocacy agenda for 2022. Please note: registration of Voting Delegates is a separate process from conference registration and should be undertaken via the online form.
Submit your Nominated Voting Delegates
Water Management Conference
Our long-delayed Water Management Conference in Narrabri gets under way on Wednesday 9 February, with a conference theme of Building Resilience and Capacity. As a proud Broken Hill City councillor since 1995, I am keenly aware of the importance of water security to communities across NSW. Ongoing investment from the State and Federal governments will be required to make regional water infrastructure more resilient and to provide for a range of water efficiency measures, and water security remains one of LGNSW’s key advocacy priorities.
I’m looking forward to hearing from our Keynote Speaker and Resilience NSW Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons AO AFSM, who was recognised in last week’s Australia Day honours with an Order of Australia for his distinguished service to the community through leadership roles within fire and emergency response.
ALGA Pre-Election Campaign Resources are now available
As our national peak body, the Australian Local Government Association continues to finalise its campaign to win funding for 17 national priorities for local government in the upcoming Federal Election. In our last edition I provided a link to the template Motion of Support for use at your council; today I’m able to add a range of downloadable campaign resources you can adopt and adapt to help move the dial over the next few months.
Download campaign resources
Our objective is to use the funding support to create almost 43,000 jobs and add about $6.39 billion a year to Australia’s Gross Domestic Product – a worthy outcome for all Australians.
Yours Sincerely,
Darriea Turley AM
LGNSW President