29 November 2022

Red fleet update

In an extremely concerning development in the Red Fleet dispute, a number of councils who did not record Rural Fire Service (RFS) mobile assets in their financial statements have now received a qualified audit report.

This situation could have easily been avoided if the State Government took the logical and appropriate step and recognise the Red Fleet as State-controlled assets.

Instead, the government has now heaped more uncertainty on councils at a time when rising costs and extreme weather are placing a huge strain on their finances. This is particularly the case in rural and regional areas.

As we have said from the beginning of this dispute, it is ludicrous that the State Government continues with the nonsensical notion that the Red Fleet should be recorded on councils’ financial statements when we have no say in the acquisition, deployment or disposal of these assets.

There is also no rational reason for maintaining this anomaly for the Red Fleet when comparable assets held by Fire & Rescue NSW and the SES are the responsibility of these organisations.

We will be writing to the State Government, expressing our serious concerns about this latest development and imploring them to resolve this discrepancy as quickly as possible.

I would like to once again thank the councils who have supported our campaign. All the support we receive will place more pressure on the State Government to reconsider its nonsensical position.

Statewide Roads Emergency

Thank you to the many councils who have continued to shine a spotlight on the Statewide Roads Emergency, either through motions at your council meetings or comments in the media.

During my visit to councils in the state’s North-West last week, it was clear that the dire situation of our road network is a critical challenge for our sector and communities.

Thankfully, both the State and Federal Governments have started to listen to our concerns.

In the past week alone, the following funding commitments have been announced:

State Government

• $15 million in emergency funding to eight councils in central and western NSW for urgent road repairs
• The deployment of crews and equipment from around the state to the Central West and Murrumbidgee to assist with reconnecting the road network.

Federal Government

• Local Government Recovery Grants of $1 million extended to a further 46 councils in the local government areas that have been disaster declared from the most recent wet weather event

While this is a welcome start, we all know that these announcements alone will do little to overcome the emergency we face, with conservative estimates putting the repair bill across the state at $2.5 billion.

In addition, the roads emergency is not confined to one particular region of the state, meaning we require funding for all councils – both rural/regional and metropolitan – to help them rebuild their road networks.

With the support of the Country Mayors Association, I can assure you that we will continue to engage with both levels of government to ensure our concerns on this vitally important issue continue to be heard.

Peer-to-peer council flood recovery support

I welcome the Office of Local Government’s announcement last week that it was re-activating the Local Government Community Recovery Support Group.

The support group matches offers from councils in a position to help, with requests for assistance from disaster-affected councils.

Councils needing assistance or those in a position to offer any kind of assistance can find further information online, or by emailing [email protected].

Skills shortage

The release of the 2022 Local Government Workforce Skills and Capability Survey has highlighted the magnitude of the current jobs and skills crisis each council is currently facing.

The survey – undertaken by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) – found more than 90% of NSW councils were experiencing skill shortages.

This was particularly the case with key workers such as engineers, town planners, building surveyors, environmental health officers and accountants.

In addition, the survey also found that resourcing, organisational capacity, supply constraints and cultural barriers are longstanding challenges facing local governments.

The survey’s findings were presented to the Local Government Ministers’ Forum, which was convened by the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and the Territories Kristy McBain.

Encouragingly, Ms McBain and other ministers in attendance recognised the serious impact the skills shortage is having on councils and vowed to explore potential solutions over the coming months.

I would like to thank ALGA and its President Cr Linda Scott for undertaking the survey and calling attention to the skills shortage issue, which is one of our key advocacy priorities for 2022.

2022 Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2022 Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government, which were announced at a ceremony at Parliament House last week.

These awards celebrate the contribution of women to local government in NSW and crucially aim to encourage more women to take on leadership roles in the sector.

Each of the award winners have done outstanding jobs for their councils and are all well deserving of this special accolade.

The complete list of winners can be viewed on the Office of Local Government website.

Vale Jeffrey Sowiak

I was deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing this month of Balranald Shire Council’s General Manager, Jeffrey Sowiak.

Jeff had a long career in local government, holding senior positions in councils right across Australia. Most recently he had worked as General Manager at Brewarrina Shire Council before commencing at Balranald Shire Council in April this year.

In his short time at Balranald Shire Council, Jeff played a leading role in responding to this year’s floods and helping the community with the rebuild effort.

On behalf of LGNSW and our entire sector, I extend our deepest sympathy to Jeff’s family, friends and colleagues.

Reminder! Register for remaining IPART workshops

There are still two more workshops to be held by IPART as part of its review of the rate peg methodology.

The details of both workshops are as follows:

• Tamworth – 1 December (10am – 1pm)
• Online (Metropolitan) – 2 December (10am – 1pm)

More information is available on the IPART website.

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