By Paul Hemsley A push by New South Wales Local Government Minister, Don Page, to rewrite inconsistent and ad-hoc legislation governing the operation of councils into simple and cohesive laws has secured vital backing from the state’s municipal power brokers, clearing the way for a clean-out of defective regulations. The joint-president of Local Government New […]
9 April, 2013
By Paul Hemsley New South Wales Minister for Local Government Don Page has strenuously denied that the O’Farrell government is covertly conspiring to ram through amalgamations, vowing that the government will stick to its promise of not forcing council mergers. The pledge to not force amalgamations on NSW councils was a core promise from the […]
21 March, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Local governments in New South Wales have slammed moves by the O’Farrell state government to push through new laws that would allow the immediate suspension of councils without prior notice as part of bid to gain greater control over the sector. Peak group Local Government NSW (LGNSW) has demanded the deferral of […]
14 March, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski New South Wales Local Government Minister Don Page has warned that misbehaving councillors will now be sin-binned and have their have their fees suspended under new laws to clean-out grafting elected representatives who rort the system for their own personal benefit that are now in force. The latest governance crackdown on the […]
4 March, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Property development industry group Urban Taskforce has taken the highly controversial step of throwing open its doors to allow local governments to formally become “associate members” of the lobbying outfit as it seeks to redefine its engagement with policymakers. The move comes as the New South Wales government scopes-out a root-and-branch overhaul […]
27 February, 2013
By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski The Local Government and Shires Association of New South Wales (LGSA) has backed a push by the state’s Minister for Local Government Don Page to arrest problems faced by regional councils in Western NSW including population decline, ageing infrastructure and financial sustainability by forging stronger relations between local, state […]
27 February, 2013
By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell has warned that the federal government could abuse any new powers to directly fund local government programs after the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government preliminary report recommended a referendum on the topic at the next federal election. “We don’t […]
25 January, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Property development and finance lobby group Urban Task Force has upped the ante on the topic of forced local government amalgamations in NSW after it gave prominent reports pointing to compulsory mergers a conspicuously wide berth in a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon. The group has reiterated its position that “clusters” of […]
4 December, 2012
By Julian Bajkowski The local government sector in New South Wales has been rocked by the findings of an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) probe released today that has found 41 people participated in corrupt conduct, with many now council employees and officers now likely to face prosecution. The corruption watchdog has found that “22 […]
29 October, 2012
By Julian Bajkowski The New South Wales government has launched a spring offensive on accidental drownings and will introduce new laws that more strictly regulate safety compliance for an estimated 340,000 backyard pools in the state. Local Government Minister Don Page has announced that the O’Farrell government will now compel home-owners to place their pools […]
14 September, 2012
Minister for Local Government, Don Page said following the recent formation of the Independent Local Government Review Panel, it has been determined it’s appropriate to implement a temporary policy that will apply to proposals to change local council boundaries. He said this is because one of the Terms of Reference for the Independent Local […]
1 June, 2012
By Lilia Guan The New South Wales Government has developed an online toolkit to help local governments become innovative with their planning strategies and creative with their use of resources to prepare for an ageing community. NSW Local Government Minister Don Page and Minister for Ageing Andrew Constance launched the online toolkit, which […]
16 September, 2011
By Lilia Guan During a two-day conference on the future of local government in NSW, held in Dubbo, general managers and mayors of the 152 councils called for changes to be made to the sector. At Dubbo 2036 Local Government Minister Don Page said it is “clear” that if councils don not […]
23 August, 2011
President of the Local Government Association, Keith Rhoades said Destination 2036, held in Dubbo, New South Wales this week, showed all NSW councils are in agreement about the big issues and changes required. He said the Minister and the Division of Local Government (DLG) was also intent on rectifying and solving some of our biggest […]
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