NSW’s peak body for councils is continuing to push for Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, to meet with the mayors of Sydney’s 12 COVID-hit LGAs after she declined their initial meeting invitation.
LGNSW President, Linda Scott said more than two million residents in the affected LGAs deserved the opportunity for their elected local government representatives to meet directly with the Premier to discuss the devastating impacts of the Government’s lockdown orders.
She said the Premier was still refusing to sit down to a collective online meeting with mayors from the 12 western and south western LGAs to discuss how both levels of government could support their communities.
“Since news of the Premier’s refusal I have received an outpouring of messages from mayors and councillors who are working day and night to help their communities through this time, expressing a feeling of being ignored by the NSW Government,” Cr Scott said.
“However, we have made some progress.
“In the past week mayors of the most impacted COVID LGAs and I have met with the Leader of the Opposition, the Ministers for Local Government, for Health, for Western Sydney, the NSW Chief Health Officer and others.
“All these people, along with agencies across the State and councils who are at the frontline of supporting local people through this battle, are working tirelessly in this challenging period.
“It is encouraging for our local government representatives to know they have the backing of the NSW Government, and it is an invaluable help to speak to those who are integral to our efforts to recovery.”
Cr Scott said the key voice missing in the partnership approach continued to be Premier Berejiklian.
“I am grateful the Premier made these other Ministers available to meet with our mayors,” she said.
“But I do not understand why she has not taken the opportunity we’ve provided to personally meet with them and hear firsthand the serious impacts of current health orders.”
Cr Scott said she was hopeful the Premier would reconsider and take time to meet with the locally elected representatives of the 12 impacted LGAs in the near future.
“I am confident that if we build consensus, we can maximise the impact of our efforts to get our communities safely through this time and increase our chances of a faster economic recovery,” Cr Scott said.
“In fact, back in 2019 the Premier and I signed an Intergovernmental Agreement, and part of that agreement was a commitment from the State Government to consult with our sector and work with us to achieve positive outcomes for our communities.
“All levels of government, and representatives of every political persuasion, want the same thing: to keep people safe and emerge on the other side of lockdown as quickly as possible. The NSW Government should be working with local government to achieve that.”
