RATE capping reviews and legislation on animal breeding facilities in NSW are among seven key issues that Murray River Council (MRC) will address in motions to the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) and Local Government NSW (LGNSW) later this year.
The motions also highlight the lack of nationally recognised accreditations for building surveyors and issues surrounding the e-planning portal.
Mayor Chris Bilkey said these conferences provided an important platform to share ideas and discuss issues facing the local government sector.
“We need to look at how we can best strengthen the local government sector and improve services and conditions for local communities,” he said.
“In putting forward our motions we are calling on all spheres of government to work in partnership if we are to meet the ongoing challenges that we know of, and the ones that may inevitably arise.”
The first motion pushed for a collaborative approach between the three levels of government, to prepare and deliver the change required to support the conversion from the internal combustion engine to electric, and possibly hydrogen, powered vehicles be urgently developed.
MRC will also call that the ALGA National General Assembly immediately requests that the Federal Government and relevant state governments immediately relax the cross-border accreditation requirements for building surveyors to operate nationally under the Australian Building Code.
Council is also calling for the Federal Government to introduce a rural/regional specific accreditation to ease the burden on regional Councils.
Cr Bilkey said council would move that the NSW Government urgently reviewed and amended the 2022/23 financial year rates cap, raising to a minimum 2.5 per cent to allow the continuation of services to be maintained to community expectations.
Council said it would also call for certainty from the NSW Government that local governments won’t be required to carry the Rural Fire Service assets in their financial statements, on the basis that they don’t fund the assets, have no control over the use and don’t benefit from them in any way.
An independent review of the e-planning portal system was also urged by council, while addressing the NSW Government’s failure to update legislation and codes of practice in relation to puppy farms in the state.
Council, in its motion, said a new animal welfare code of practice for breeding cats and dogs was published in August 2021, which failed to align the requirements closer to Victoria.
The ALGA National General Assembly will take place from June 12-22 in Canberra.
The LGNSW Annual Conference will be held from October 23-25 in the Hunter Valley.
Cr Bilkey was contacted for further comment.
