The key reason for attending was to draw attention to a number of issues we believe negatively impact local governance, both here in the Highlands and across the wider state.

Chief among these concerns were proposals to amend mandatory state government development application procedures for new dwellings and alterations. In brief, we put forward suggestions to the government that red tape be cut to help expedite the processing of new dwelling development applications.

Other motions put forward included a greater commitment towards libraries and an investigation into the current lack of diversity among councillors across the state.

I’m happy to report that these motions found broad support from all the delegates.

Another suggestion we raised concerned the lack of state funding provided to councils for the preparation of plans of management (PoM’s). At present, councils are provided with a one-off $30,000 provision to prepare PoM’s for parcels of Crown land located within their boundaries.  Our shire alone has over 60 areas that fall under the Crown Land Management Act and, apart from being time consuming to prepare, they’re also very costly. In fact, we estimate that the cost to our shire’s community will be in the order of $500,000 to prepare our local PoM’s.

We argued that this is a perfect example of cost-shifting onto local councils.

Last week, the issue of cost-shifting re-emerged with numerous councils voicing their concerns about Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton’s announcement of a new Code of Meeting Practice.

Here in the Wingecarribee Shire we welcome the majority of the suggestions in the new document. The council believes that any changes that strengthen accountability, inclusion, transparency and good governance can only be a good thing.

I remain cautiously optimistic, however, that the recommendations within this new document do not come at an increased cost to local government and the residents we represent.