State vs. Local government in NSW

NSW councils must begin to plan ahead for the future of their local communities to avoid being dictated to by the State, says the Local Government and Shires Associations. Cr Bruce Miller, President of the Shires Association, last week called on delegates at the 2009 Shires Conference to begin discussions about their future and make sure that they were the masters of their own destinies. “I don’t believe that wholesale amalgamations are the answer – there are many councils performing very well and they are extremely viable,” he said. “Sharing of staff and resources is also an option we need to explore. We don’t yet know what the future of Local Government will be, but we need to take this opportunity before us now to shape the future of our communities ourselves.”

President of the Local Government Association Cr Genia McCaffery said that the dialogue was equally important to metropolitan councils, given the State Government’s determination to eat away at local representation. “We have seen an erosion of planning powers that is fundamentally changing the way local councils can represent their communities,” she said. “This, along with years of cost shifting and rate pegging that mean our costs far outstrip our funding, has led us to this position where, as it currently stands, Local Government is not sustainable in the long term. We will not sit idly by and see our communities continue to deteriorate – we must steer Local Government back into a position where they have the strength to represent the communities that have elected them.”

Cr Miller said that while both Labor and Liberal have said they will not force amalgamations, Local Government has heard this before.