Gunnedah Shire Council has announced it will submit six motions for consideration by the 2024 Local Government NSW Annual Conference, to be held on Sunday, 17 November in Tamworth.
Councillors voted yesterday at their final Ordinary Meeting for this term to submit the following motions:
- That LGNSW request that the NSW Government review the pension discount amounts so that they are more equitable and reflect current circumstances. That pension discounts are to be fully funded by the NSW Government and indexed annually by CPI to bring NSW in line with the other states.
- That LGNSW request that the NSW Government provide a pool of funds out of which regional and rural local governments can apply for funds to support accessible public pools.
- That LGNSW request that the NSW Government, as a matter of urgency, review obstetric services in Gunnedah and Tamworth with the aim of allowing women to give birth in their local area.
- That the State Government call on the Federal Government to restore to Local Government the Federal Assistance Grants to 1% of federal taxation revenue.
- That the State Government works with NSW councils to address the systemic funding issues that are giving rise to many councils continuing to seek large increases in general rates by way of Special Rate Variations, and that existing sources of funding provided to local government be reviewed and higher levels of funding be directed into ongoing operational support instead of competitive special purpose grants to assist councils to become financially sustainable.
- That LGNSW rejects the NSW State Government Ministerial Statement of Expectations Order 2024 regarding establishing of targets and expectations for average development assessment timeframes for NSW local government councils without allocation of additional resourcing and funding or the targets will lead to unintended negative outcomes on development within local communities.
