Local Government Amendment Bill 2011

14-October-2011

Mr CRAIG BAUMANN (Port Stephens—Parliamentary Secretary) [12.40 p.m.]: I refer to the Local Government Amendment Bill 2011. I was first elected to Port Stephens Shire Council, as it then was, in 1997 and went on to serve on the council for nearly 17 years. I was fortunate enough to serve for two years as deputy shire president and 3½ years as mayor. During those 17 years there were nine local government Ministers. I remember when Ernie—the fastest milko in the west—or more formally known as Kerry Hickey was Minister. At that time I thought "We have to be able to improve on him", so I ran for State Parliament. Although it took four years longer than I thought it would, after 16 years in the wilderness we finally have a Minister who is worthy of the title, a Minister who relates to local government and carries the respect of councils throughout New South Wales.

I can think of no more obvious demonstration of this partnership between the Government and the 152 New South Wales councils than when the Minister for Local Government, Mr Don Page, recently held a press conference in Parliament House with the President of the Local Government Association, Keith Rhoades, and President of the Shires Association, Ray Donald: their mutual respect and trust was genuine. I cannot remember any of the previous six Labor Ministers having anything in common with New South Wales councils, which is a huge difference to the current relationship. I congratulate the Minister on introducing this bill. Like the other legislation that passed through this place recently, this will also be a huge benefit to councils, their elected councillors and council's shareholders—the ratepayers.

Unlike the Labor Government, this Government will not force amalgamations. However, should councils decide to amalgamate or adjust boundaries, it will reduce the period of operation of the employment protection provisions from three years to one year. This will remove the disincentive for councils to engage in structural reform through voluntary amalgamations and other shared service arrangements. This bill reflects the Government's commitment to providing an effective legislative framework for the administration of local government in New South Wales and to improving the effectiveness of local government generally. In 2004, the Local Government Act 1993 was amended to insert a new employment protection regime—found in part 6, chapter 11—that effectively precluded councils from restructuring their workforce for three years.

Councils that underwent amalgamations for the purpose of improving their efficiencies and providing better services to their ratepayers expressed concerns that this regime stalled their ability to benefit from structural reform because they were unable to adjust their organisational structure and to rationalise their workforce soon enough. This legislation will allow councils to adjust their staff structures after one year rather than three years following amalgamations or boundary adjustments. This in turn will provide incentives for councils to engage in local government structural reform through increased shared arrangements and other innovative service delivery models. The legislation will also assist councils in complying with the requirements of the integrated planning and reporting framework, which requires them to determine their organisational structure in accordance with their workforce management plan.

All councils should do the best they can for their ratepayers and I encourage all councils in New South Wales to look dispassionately at their boundaries. Many were defined by geographical barriers that were in place at the time, and I encourage tweaking boundaries that are no longer optimal. For example, the Port Stephens-Great Lakes boundary is along the high water mark of the body of water known as Port Stephens and was determined in an age when the port was a geographical impediment to land transport. That impediment no longer exists, so perhaps both councils should look at a boundary adjustment that puts the whole Myall lakes catchment and the port in the same local government area.

At the request of the Local Government and Shires Associations, this bill will reinstate councils as bodies corporate and will address their concerns that body politic status negatively impacts on councils' activities, including obtaining Federal funding for trainees and being excluded from tendering for construction work on Federal Government funded projects. The bill also contains caretaker provisions designed to regulate councils' activities before ordinary elections and it will prevent a council from making major or controversial decisions during an election period that would bind an incoming council. This bill will make the voting system in a council contested election optional preferential where only one councillor is to be elected and proportional representation where two or more councillors are to be elected, which will give minority groups a better chance of being fairly represented. This is a great bill that will be of benefit to our 152 councils, which until March this year were bashed to death by 16 years of hard labour. I once again congratulate the Minister and commend the bill to the House.