Narrandera Shire Council delegate to the recent Country Mayors Association Deputy Mayor Cameron Lander alerted his fellow councillors to the main concerns discussed at the association meeting in a report to Tuesday’s Council meeting.

Cr Lander said Government Ministers noted the following priorities relevant to Narrandera Shire:

• Security of drinking water – water treatment plant funding
• Key worker housing – upgrades to nurses’ quarters at Narrandera Hospital
• Ensuring access to key freight corridors – flood proofing the Sturt and Newell Highways at Gillenbah; and
• Rural Ambulance Infrastructure Program – potential upgrade to local ambulance stations.

Other priorities listed for councils were:

• Need for a more realistic and timely indexing process for pensioner concessions and rebates
• Desire for daylight savings to be reduced to four months starting on the first weekend of November, finishing on the last weekend in February
• Accounting treatment of Rural Fire Service (RFS) assets by NSW Treasury
• Independence of the NSW Auditor General; and
• Qualified audits for Councils who did not place RFS assets on their books.

The NSW Country Mayors Association (CMA) is an incorporated body formed to speak for the residents of regional and rural NSW. Its focus is on “… nothing more than equity …” for rural and regional councils across the state. Its Executive Committee is made up from a selection of country Mayors.

CMA membership includes more than 80 NSW Councils including Narrandera, who cover the majority of local government areas outside the metropolitan regions.

Cr Lander said the May meeting was attended by a large contingent of Mayors, Deputy Mayors and General Managers as well as:

• The Hon Jenny Aitchison MP, Minister for Regional Transport and Roads
• The Hon Rose Jackson MLC, Minister for Water, Housing, Homelessness, Mental Health, Youth and North Coast
• The Leader of the Nationals, the Hon Dugald Saunders MP
• Carmel Donnelly, IPART Chair; and

A number of the shadow Ministry including the Hon Steph Cooke MP, Shadow Minister for Water and Crown Lands also attended.

Cr Lander said the Chair of IPART noted that the review of the rate peg methodology was progressing with the draft report being ready in early June and the final report expected in August 2023.

Aspects of the methodology being reviewed included how to accommodate unanticipated increases in costs such as changes to the emergency services levy (ESL), treatment of RFS assets and audit requirements. She encouraged shires to provide feedback on the draft report once it is released.

The next meeting of the CMA is scheduled for Friday August 4. 

This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 22 June 2023.