NSW councillors now eligible for super

NSW councils will be able to make superannuation contributions from next year.

17 March, 2021

IPART reduces rate peg again: NSW councils told to tighten their belts

Merged councils hamstrung.

29 November, 2016

Rates, roads and water: Local Government NSW conference

NSW councils’ Rosehill meeting

8 October, 2015

NSW councils issue election demands

Councils’ wish list ahead of NSW election.

2 March, 2015

Councils slam rate pegging slug in South Australia

A pledge by the South Australian Opposition to force rate pegging onto local governments after the March election has put councils immediately offside.

3 March, 2014

Government research finds rate rises more popular than council mergers

By Paul Hemsley New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell and his Local Government Minister Don Page have a new electoral headache to deal with in their efforts to sell the controversial idea of council mergers in the state. New polling research commissioned by the Independent Local Government Review Panel in New South Wales has revealed […]

27 September, 2013

Panel urges O’Farrell to push ‘voluntary’ council amalgamations

By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski A push by the Independent Local Government Review Panel to the New South Wales government to encourage “voluntary amalgamations” of councils has sparked widely divergent reactions from stakeholders as peak body Local Government NSW (LGNSW) continues to argue that forced mergers are not, and should not, be state government […]

29 April, 2013

NSW Treasury answers councils’ demands to end rate pegging

By Paul Hemsley Local Government New South Wales (LGNSW) joint president Ray Donald has said that calls for an end to rate pegging have been backed by the state government in the latest report about the financial sustainability of councils from the NSW Treasury Corporation (TCorp). Mr Donald said TCorp’s findings in the Financial Sustainability […]

22 April, 2013

WA councils hammer rate pegging pledge

 By Paul Hemsley Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) President Troy Pickard has condemned an election promise by the state’s Labor Opposition to cap council rates and align them with movements in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Mr Pickard claims the rate pegging plan is likely to cause losses of local services and facilities. The […]

8 March, 2013

Councils slam rate cap limit

New South Wales councils have renewed their calls for the removal of rate pegging following the release of the new rate cap limit. The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal has set the rate cap limit for the next financial year at 2.8 per cent. The Local Government and Shires Associations (LGSA) welcomed the new method of […]

13 December, 2010

Independent regulator to set council rates

By Angela Dorizas The New South Wales Government has announced that it will retain rate pegging, with charges to be set by the independent pricing regulator. Rates will be set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART), with a cap of $20,000 a lot for council charges on new development (Section 94 contributions). The changes […]

5 June, 2010

Shires demand end to rate pegging

By Angela Dorizas The Shires Association of New South Wales has renewed its calls for the abolition of rate pegging. Speaking at the Shires Conference in Sydney today, Shires Association president Cr Bruce Miller urged the State Government and Opposition to remove the cap on council rates. “Many councils are now struggling to provide even basic […]

1 June, 2010

Scrap the rate cap: LGSA

By Angela Dorizas Delivery of vital community services in New South Wales is under threat following the State Government’s decision to reduce the rate cap to only 2.6 per cent, according to the Local Government and Shires Associations (LGSA). The rate-peg sets the maximum income that NSW councils can collect from rate revenue. Annoucing the […]

18 February, 2010

Local government welcomes IPART report

By Staff Writer   The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) draft report on the revenue framework for local government has echoed the sectors call for New South Wales councils to assume greater responsibility for negotiating long term financial plans with their communities. The Local Government and Shires Associations have welcomed the release of the […]

27 July, 2009