This week marks three months until the 14 September 2024 NSW local government election and for our community, it promises to be an intriguing and extremely consequential affair.

The 2021 election saw four out of nine councillors returned to Council following their election in the September 2016 election. Those councillors were Matt Brown, Warren Steel, Kathy Rice, and Neil Reilly. 

However, it has been a long eight years for our community since then.

The pandemic brought on its own set of challenges, not least an increase in demand for housing and a change to our community landscape. Our fair town is now the most expensive place to buy a home in regional NSW and to try and address housing affordability, the State Government has mandated the completion of 900 homes by 30 June 2029. 

That equates to 180 homes per year, for the next five years – something that has only happened two times in the last 25 years.

The last eight years has also seen a significant degradation in Council’s financial position which is perhaps only matched by the significant increase in legal costs – much of this attributed to Councillor infighting and internal complaints. It’s possible that when all is said and done, the legal bill for rate payers will be more than $5 million. In these uncertain times we certainly do not agree that $4.7m is not going to cripple Council. 

For a comparison, Byron Bay Council’s legal expenses for 2023 were just shy of $400,000. Ratepayers are rightly shaking their head, and The Bugle has fielded a number of comments from the community who are aghast at how flippantly our rates are being spent, particularly in a cost-of-living crisis. 

The Blue Haven Bonaira saga looks to be finally coming to a close, and in a few short weeks, we should know how much money the sale will contribute to Council finances. But is this likely to only be a short-term fix? Blue Haven Terralong is now in the sights of the NSW Government and the Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig, who suspects that general rate revenue may be subsiding its operation.

No doubt there will be more asset sales and cuts to services. 

Three months out from the election, we are still yet to receive official confirmation as to which sitting councillors will be running for re-election. Who is going to campaign on protection of services and jobs? Perhaps a difficult pill to swallow if you’re in the thick of it.  

As Bill Potts rightly points out, some councillors ‘were there when we got in this mess’.  

We are yet to see a platform on transparency and accountability. Who is going to take responsibility of the situation that we’re in, and show genuine leadership for our community to find a way out? Where is the grandstanding about re-election, contributions made, key outcomes delivered?

Perhaps there are some in the community, waiting in the wings. Local voices out there, biding their time, preparing their run, campaigning on an alternate vision, a different approach?

Our community has undergone significant turmoil in recent times, much of it as a result of Council actions. The Bugle’s View is that elected representatives should not be surprised if there is a backlash and a call for change.

The next term of local government will be the most challenging for our area and we need the best possible people to lead us, not those that continually belittle and work against us.