OCTOBER 2023
Australia’s National Local Government Newspaper
Inspiring women Talented women from across NSW councils have been recognised for their accomplishments at the prestigious Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government. After receiving a record number of nominations this year, the winners were celebrated at a ceremony at Parliament House co-hosted by Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig and Minister for Women Jodie Harrison. Story page 2
Young Achievers Award – Regional/Rural recipient Jenna Dowell, a trainee engineer at Upper Hunter Shire Council.
Demerger delay The planned Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council demerger has hit another delay, with the NSW Government now calling for a public inquiry before it takes place, casting doubt on whether it’ll occur before next year’s council elections. In a press release last week, Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig office said since coming to office, the Minister and Office of Local Government had explored the legal avenues available to achieve a successful demerger under the roadmap provided by the previous Liberal-National government. They said this roadmap has only succeeded in leading to a dead end, with no statutory mechanism under the legislation (section 218CC of the Local Government Act 1993) to create two independent and fully functioning councils. “The NSW Government supports the communities in Cootamundra and Gundagai’s desire to demerge and frame their own future for local governance,” the minister said. “The Liberals and Nationals created this problem by forcibly merging two communities with nothing in common. “The previous government knew there were legal issues but it was left to us to find a way through the mess. “Since coming to office, the government has made it clear that the demerger framework must support and enhance local democracy while ensuring the practical and financial im-
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pacts are fully understood. “The new approach announced today is a necessary step as I am unable to give legal effect to the former Minister for Local Government’s intention under section 218CC of the Local Government Act to demerge the council. “This approach recognises council and the community’s desire to demerge and lets the community shape their own destiny in creating their two new councils. “Any future councils must be sustainable and able to continue to deliver services and infrastructure to their community, now and into the future. Minister Ron Hoenig met outlined the new pathway which “empowered the council to develop a detailed implementation plan to guide the establishment of two new sustainable local government areas”. The plan must include propositions for: Where the boundaries should be; Electoral matters such as wards, number of councillors and the method of electing Mayor; Division of assets and liabilities; Allocation of staff, as well as management
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and organisational structures; Rate levels and charges; and Service standards and shared service arrangements. The plan will then be assessed by a public inquiry led by the Boundaries Commission. This inquiry will determine if independent Cootamundra and Gundagai councils are capable of operating in a financially sustainable way that will provide necessary infrastructure and services to their respective communities. Providing the NSW Government is satisfied that the plan and the public inquiry process provides enough certainty to the local community, CGRC will be dissolved and two new council areas proclaimed. However National Party member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said the NSW Labor Government had clearly lost its way on the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council demerge process, and has turned its back on the local community, who are now once again facing an uncertain future. Ms Cooke said she is shocked and dismayed by the Local Government Minister’s decision to blind-side the community with a
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significant roadblock on the path to de-amalgamation, by announcing yet another inquiry into the issue. “I don’t know if the minister has been paying close attention, but newsflash: we have been there and done that. This is dejà vu all over again,” Ms Cooke said. “Twelve months ago we had a commitment from the previous Coalition Government to demerge the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council, and importantly we had a plan to make it happen. “That decision put in place a road map to facilitate the demerge, and we were well on our way to our destination; it was full speed ahead. In March this year, that journey came to a grinding halt, and now we have a minister who has taken a disastrously wrong turn, leading us back to where we started. “This will be the third time the Boundaries Commission has examined this demerge proposal, which begs the question: how many times will it take for the NSW Labor Government to understand that this is what the local communities overwhelmingly want to see happen? Continued page 2
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