There will be an unexpected change in leadership at Local Government NSW as the direct result of current President Councillor Darriea Turley AM no longer being eligible to retain that office beyond 24 December 2024.
Cr Turley is an elected member of Broken Hill City Council which, at its November meeting, resolved to resign from LGNSW - the peak body for local government across the state.
Despite being democratically elected by members as President in December 2021 and again in November 2023, Cr Turley is no longer eligible to hold office as her council no longer forms part of the membership of the peak body.
In accordance with the Rules for LGNSW, the remaining 11 months of her term will now be served by the current Vice-President (Rural/Regional) ,who is Mayor Phyllis Miller from Forbes Shire Council. Mayor Miller will serve until the next scheduled general election due to take place at the LGNSW Annual Conference in November 2025.
In writing to members to notify them of her sudden departure, Cr Turley expressed disappointment but emphasised her belief that the organisation will remain in a position of strength under the new leadership of Mayor Miller, which will come into effect on Wednesday 25 December.
Cr Turley also took the opportunity to reflect on her decade of service on the Board of LGNSW.
"I have been honoured to serve as a Director at LGNSW since the combined organisation was created in 2013. Over the past decade, I have seen the organisation grow from strength to strength," C r Turley said.
"When I was elected President in 2021, we were still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and our communities were reeling from the effects of unprecedented natural disasters. In taking on the office of President, I identified community resilience and the local government role in recovery as key priorities. I committed our organisation to supporting councils in their incredible work in helping to drive a locally led recovery from the impacts of drought, bushfires, floods and the pandemic."
Cr Turley went on to highlight some of the key achievements during her time as President:
- Strengthening LGNSW's relationship with the new NSW Government by entering into a new Intergovernmental Agreement.
- Initiating two successful and very popular Rural and Regional Summits, focussing on the unique challenges facing these communities and sharing the many success stories too.
- Forcing State and Federal governments to look seriously at the dire state of financial sustainability for local government. The recently released report from the NSW Parliamentary inquiry into the ability of councils to fund infrastructure and services acknowledged many of the issues LGNSW has been highlighting over the years and the report's recommendations were consistent with the actions LGNSW have been calling for.
- The work that LGNSW has been doing on the growing burden of cost shifting, highlighting the significantly detrimental effect this practice has had on the sector.
- Similarly, achieving a welcome change to the Rate Peg Methodology which is seen a real win for our sector, as it recognised some of the unique and very real challenges facing local government finances.
- The Minns Government taking significant steps on the issues of the Emergency Services Levy and Red Fleet Assets as a direct result of LGNSW advocacy. The current ESL consultation includes consideration of removing this impost from councils. Meanwhile, the Red Fleet issue is being looked at by a dedicated inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee. It was also the basis of a strong recommendation of the abovementioned inquiry, which appropriately recognised that Rural Fire Service assets should be vested in the NSW Government, and not in councils.
- This year's announcement of the $252.2 million Apprentices and Traineeships program came after a great deal of hard work and lobbying from LGNSW and the United Services Union.
- Securing a commitment from the NSW Government to legislate to protect Local Water Utilities from privatisation was so important to our sector and to the communities we serve.
- Declaration of the statewide roads emergency following torrential rain and floods, resulted in hundreds of millions of additional funding for council roads.
Cr Turley also took the opportunity to acknowledge the three different local government State Ministers she had worked with under the Perrottet and Minns Governments and thanked them all for their "collaborative efforts and their willingness to listen to our united voice".
She also expressed her gratitude towards her fellow Board members, the two Chief Executives she had worked with (Scott Phillips and David Reynolds) as well as all the staff at LGNSW who she described as "incredible" and who played "such an important role in keeping local government strong and robust and ensuring LGNSW can deliver so much value for LGNSW members".
Cr Turley will remain as an elected member of Broken Hill City Council, with next year marking an important milestone for the former healthcare worker:
"Next year will mark 30 years since I was first elected to Broken Hill City Council back in 1995," she said.
"I love serving my community and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the LGNSW Board. Local Government is THE most important sphere of government - we not only represent our community, but we also work with them to make our neighbourhoods more liveable, to provide essential services, to facilitate a sense of connectedness and to deliver vital infrastructure and facilities.
"I look forward to watching LGNSW to continue to grow from strength to strength. Best wishes to Phyllis and the team as I now hand over the reins."
In accordance with the Rules of LGNSW, the vacancy for VP (Rural/Regional) was determined by the Board on Monday 23 December and Cr Claire Pontin, Mayor of Mid-Coast Council, was elected unopposed.
That subsequent casual vacancy in the role of Director will now be filled via a countback process from the election of Directors held in November 2023.
