Gunnedah digs in on push for local government funding

Gunnedah Shire Council will double down on its push for greater equity from other levels of government when it meets for the 2024 Local Government NSW Conference at Tamworth in November.

As Gunnedah shire staff consult the community on a proposed 38.88 per cent special rate variation (SRV), councillors recently endorsed six motions to present at the conference – one which addressed “systemic funding issues” between the state government and local councils.

These issues, the motion stated, are giving rise to many councils continuing to seek large increases in general rates by way of SRVs. The motion requested 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.

Where a majority of voting conference delegates vote in support of a motion, it is adopted as a resolution of LGNSW.

Deputy mayor Rob Hooke, who moved the original motion for Gunnedah’s conference submission, said 250 special rate variation applications had been filed by NSW councils in the last decade.

He stated the situation the Gunnedah community and others now face demonstrates the current ways of working are untenable.

“The majority of councils throughout NSW especially non-metropolitan areas are expecting unprecedented financial pressure to deliver basic service,” Cr Hooke said.

“The revenue base is being eroded by inadequate rate peg allowances, cost shifting by the state government and halving of the federal assistance grants.

“Councils are going backwards financially and have limited means to raise additional revenue so the basic services can be maintained let alone address the backlog of infrastructure maintenance that is accumulating.”

During the August ordinary meeting of council, councillor Juliana McArthur enquired whether Gunnedah’s submission about maternity services should be moved up the list, however, mayor Jamie Chaffey said the points were in no specific order. Furthermore, Cr Chaffey understood Gunnedah’s six submissions would be reallocated to the relevant section at the conference where he expected more than 100 motions to be debated.

The LGNSW webpage describes the annual conference as the “supreme policy-making body of LGNSW and an opportunity for councillors to come together to share ideas and debate issues that shape the way LGNSW is governed and advocates on behalf of the local government sector”.

The conference will be held in Tamworth from November 17-19. Next year’s conference will be held in Penrith, followed by Wollongong in 2026.