agenda for the extraordinary council meeting · please note: your request to address council must...

Agenda for the Extraordinary Council Meeting

Date: 14 August 2019

Location: Bellingen Shire Council Chambers

Time: 8:30AM

COUNCIL ADVISES THAT ALL OR PART OF THE MEETING MAY BE AUDIO RECORDED BY COUNCIL

AGENDA

EXTRAORDINARY COUNCIL 14/08/2019

Page ii

AGENDA


AGENDA


Council’s Vision Our vision for the future must encompass all aspects of

living and working in our shire, as well as ways in which we are connected beyond our borders – regionally, nationally and globally. Our vision is about protecting the pristine natural beautify of our environment and enhancing our prosperous and safe community where inclusiveness and sustainable living are embraced, so that creativity and cultural activity can flourish.

Council’s Corporate Values � Respect and understanding of our community’s needs

� Fairness and equity � Stewardship � Responsible decision-making � Co-operative partnerships � Pride in our community

Council’s Guiding Principles � The principles of Ecologically Sustainable

• Development including • Sustainable use • Integration • Inter-generational and intra-generational

equity • Conservation of our biodiversity and ecological

integrity • Internalisation of environmental sustainability costs • Social justice principles including

• Equity • Access • Rights

AGENDA


HOW MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY CAN ENGAGE WITH COUNCIL AND HAVE THEIR SAY AT COUNCIL MEETINGS

Council has a commitment to providing members of the community with an opportunity to have input into Council's decision making. The Council's Code of Meeting Practice provides the avenue for members of the public to address Council on issues of interest or concern at the Ordinary Council Meeting. The process for public address is listed below:

ADDRESSING COUNCIL ON AN AGENDA ITEM:

If the matter is listed in the Council Business Paper, you can request to address Council by:

• Completing the Request to Speak on an Agenda Item at a Council Meeting”, which can be obtained from Council’s front counter at 33-39 Hyde Street, Bellingen

• Or by downloading it from Council’s website. • Or by emailing Council’s General Manager’s Office directly on

[email protected]

PLEASE NOTE: Your request to address Council must be received by Council no later than 12.00pm on the day prior to the Council Meeting.

COUNCIL'S CODE OF MEETING PRACTICE SETS OUT THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES FOR ADDRESSING COUNCIL:

• Addresses will be limited to 5 minutes each with the Chairperson having the option of granting an extension of time in extenuating circumstances.

• Council will permit only two (2) speakers "Supporting" and two (2) speakers "Opposing" the Recommendation contained in the Business Paper.

• The use of PowerPoint presentations and overhead projectors is permitted as part of the deputation, provided that the speaker has made prior arrangements with the General Managers office at the time of booking their deputation.

Council’s Code of Meeting Practice can be found on Council’s website: www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au

AGENDA


CONFLICT OF INTEREST 1 Councillors are under an obligation to disclose any interest they may have in any

matter before the Council and to refrain from being involved in any consideration or to vote on any such matter.

2 Councillors must disclose any interest in any matter listed in the Business Paper

fully and in writing prior to or at the opening of the meeting. 3 The nature of interest shall be included in the disclosure. 4 All declarations of interests shall be recorded by the General Manager. 5 Councillors shall immediately and during the meeting disclose any interest in

respect of any matter arising during the meeting which is not referred to in the Business Paper.

6 Any Councillor having an interest shall leave the meeting room and be out of sight of

the meeting and not participate in discussions or voting on the matter. 7 Senior staff are required to declare interests in a similar manner to Council.

AGENDA


BELLINGEN SHIRE COUNCIL

DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST AT MEETINGS

Name of Meeting:

Meeting Date:

Item/Report Number:

Item/Report Title:

I declare the following interest:

(name)

Pecuniary – must leave chamber, take no part in discussion and voting.

Non Pecuniary – Significant Conflict – Recommended that Councillor/Member leaves chamber, takes no part in discussion or voting.

Non-Pecuniary – Less Significant Conflict – Councillor/Member may choose to remain in Chamber and participate in discussion and voting.

*(Definitions are provided on the next page).

For the reason that -

Signed Date

Council’s Email Address – [email protected] Council’s Facsimile Number – (02) 6655 2310

AGENDA


DEFINITIONS

(Local Government Act and Code of Conduct)

Pecuniary – An interest that a person has in a matter because of a reasonable likelihood or expectation of appreciable financial gain or loss to the person or another person with whom the person is associated. (Local Government Act, 1993 section 442 and 443) A Councillor or other member of a Council Committee who is present at a meeting and has a pecuniary interest in any matter which is being considered must disclose the nature of that interest to the meeting as soon as practicable. The Council or other member must not take part in the consideration or discussion on the matter and must not vote on any question relating to that matter. (Section 451). Non-pecuniary – A private or personal interest the council official has that does not amount to a pecuniary interest as defined in the Act (for example; a friendship, membership of an association, society or trade union or involvement or interest in an activity and may include an interest of a financial nature). If you have declared a non-pecuniary conflict of interest you have a broad range of options for managing the conflict. The option you choose will depend on an assessment of the circumstances of the matter, the nature of your interest and the significance of the issue being dealt with. You must deal with a non-pecuniary conflict of interest in at least one of these ways.

• It may be appropriate that no action is taken where the potential for conflict is minimal. However, council officials should consider providing an explanation of why they consider a conflict does not exist.

• Limit involvement if practical (for example, participate in discussion but not in decision making or vice-versa). Care needs to be taken when exercising this option.

• Remove the source of the conflict (for example, relinquishing or divesting the personal interest that creates the conflict or reallocating the conflicting duties to another officer).

• Have no involvement by absenting yourself from and not taking part in any debate or voting on the issue as if the provisions in section 451(2) of the Act apply (particularly if you have a significant non-pecuniary conflict of interest).

AGENDA


AGENDA

1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY .............................................................. 10

2 APOLOGIES ....................................................................................................... 10

3 DECLARATION OF PECUNIARY AND NON PECUNIARY INTEREST .............. 10

4 PUBLIC ACCESS/PRESENTATIONS ................................................................. 10

5 MAYORAL MINUTE ............................................................................................ 10

Nil

6 NOTICE OF MOTION .......................................................................................... 10

Nil

7 RESILIENT ECONOMY ....................................................................................... 10

Nil

8 COMMUNITY WELLBEING ................................................................................. 10

Nil

9 PLACES FOR PEOPLE ...................................................................................... 10

Nil

10 LIVING ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................................... 10

Nil

11 CIVIC LEADERSHIP ........................................................................................... 11

11.1 LOCAL GOVERNMENT NSW ANNUAL CONFERENCE - ADVOCACY .............. 11

12 CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS ................................................................................ 18

Nil

AGENDA


1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

2 APOLOGIES

Nil

3 DECLARATION OF PECUNIARY AND NON PECUNIARY INTEREST

4 PUBLIC ACCESS/PRESENTATIONS

5 MAYORAL MINUTE

Nil

6 NOTICE OF MOTION

Nil

7 RESILIENT ECONOMY

Nil

8 COMMUNITY WELLBEING

Nil

9 PLACES FOR PEOPLE

Nil

10 LIVING ENVIRONMENT

Nil

AGENDA


Item 11.1

11 CIVIC LEADERSHIP

Item: 11.1

Subject: LOCAL GOVERNMENT NSW ANNUAL CONFERENCE - ADVOCACY

File/Index: Mayoral Minute

Presented by: Dominic King, Mayor

AGENDA


Item 11.1

RECOMMENDATION That Council submit the following motions for inclusion in the Local Government NSW Annual Conference 2018 Business Paper:

1. Biodiversity conservation: a. That Local Government NSW (LGNSW) recognise the crisis in biodiversity

in NSW and the escalating economic, social and environmental impacts this will have on local government areas around the State, especially in rural and regional areas.

b. That this issue be included in the LGNSW Advocacy Priorities for 2020, and that LGNSW requests that the NSW State Government reviews the cumulative impacts of legislation governing land, water and natural resource management, and acts to ensure the protection of biodiversity, threatened iconic species, water security, native forests and food security throughout NSW.

2. Community resilience

That Local Government NSW call upon the State Government to develop a long term strategy for local councils to deal with the ongoing weather patterns associated with our changing climate with the strategy to address research and implementation funding relative to water security, catchment management, community resilience and support to local businesses.

3. Waste Crises

That Local Government NSW strongly advocates to the NSW government to ensure that:

• the Waste and Recycling Strategy currently under development recognises the imperative for significant investment in both research and development, and implementation of on ground infrastructure to enable Australia to respond to the waste crises and manage its waste in a sustainable manner

• there is no delay in significantly extending and increasing the Waste Less Recycle More funding.

4. Climate Emergency

That Local Government NSW declares that “we are in a state of climate emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government” and that Local Government NSW:

a. Notes the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “Global Warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius” ;

b. Notes the Federal Government’s latest emissions data showing we are increasing, not reducing our carbon emissions;

c. Acknowledges that local government areas across the state are, and are likely to be further affected by climate impacts, particularly sea level rise, bushfires, severe storms, drought and floods,

d. Recognises we are in a state of emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government, that human induced climate change represents one of the greatest threats to humanity, civilisation, and other species, and that it is still possible to prevent the most catastrophic outcomes if, and only

AGENDA


Item 11.1

if, societies take emergency action now. e. Reviews its strategic priorities and corporate planning documents to identify

how it can also respond to and address the Climate emergency, and develop an outline of options available to operationalise this emergency declaration.

Calls upon the State and Federal Governments to:

a. Declare a climate emergency, and b. To back this up with legislated programs to drive emergency action to

reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the lower of the Paris Agreements at 1.5%

5 Plastic Silage

That Local Government NSW undertake advocacy to both the NSW and Australian

Governments to fund research and development, as well as investment in

infrastructure to address silage waste in a timely way.

MOTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION AT THE UPCOMING LOCAL GOVERNMENT NSW (LGNSW) CONFERENCE Set out below are five motions for consideration of submission to the upcoming Local Government NSW annual conference. 1 Biodiversity conservation This motion seeks to highlight the decline in biodiversity in NSW and the escalating impacts this will have around the state, particularly in rural and regional areas. Specifically, a 2019 report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), indicates that nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history – and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely. A study published in 2017 based on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which uses a series of categories to rank how close a species is to extinction, found that Australia is one of seven countries responsible for more than half of global biodiversity loss. Within this context it is contended that there is an urgent imperative for the NSW Government to act given the levels of land clearing, lack of protection for iconic and threatened species, lack of enforcement, the circumstance is unprecedented and is having serious consequences, NSW land clearing laws and environmental protection laws are failing to protect biodiversity, iconic species and ecosystems which are under increasing threat.

To this end the following motion is proposed for consideration at the upcoming LGNSW Annual conference:

1 That Local Government NSW (LGNSW) recognise the crisis in biodiversity in NSW and the escalating economic, social and environmental impacts this will have on local government areas around the State, especially in rural and regional areas.

2 That this issue be included in the LGNSW Advocacy Priorities for 2020, and that

LGNSW requests that the NSW State Government reviews the cumulative impacts of legislation governing land, water and natural resource management, and acts to ensure the protection of biodiversity, threatened iconic species, water security, native forests and food security throughout NSW.

AGENDA


Item 11.1

2 Community resilience In the context of ongoing drought conditions wherein the whole of NSW has been drought declared with no significant rain forecast impacting significantly on all communities, it is appropriate to undertake long term and strategic planning processes around community resilience. To this end the following motion is proposed for consideration at the upcoming LGNSW Annual conference: That Local Government NSW call upon the State Government to develop a long term strategy for local councils to deal with the ongoing weather patterns associated with our changing climate with the strategy to address research and implementation funding relative to water security, catchment management, community resilience and support to local businesses. 3 National and international waste crises Nationally and internationally countries are facing a waste crises evidenced by unparalleled generation of waste, collapse of markets, changing legislation etc. Given the seriousness from both an environmental, economic and social perspective it is important that action and advocacy be taken at all levels of government. To this end, NSW Country Mayors has formally recognised that:

a. The NSW Government still has no clear plan to manage waste in light of the China Sword and other international changes to recycling.

b. That land fill sites are processing higher amounts of waste and therefore shortening the lifecycle of these sites.

c. That the increase in waste going to landfill also increases the governments revenue and has impacts on the wider environment.

d. That NSW are falling behind other States such as Victoria and SA in terms of management of waste

e. That Local Government Areas (LGAs) should receive a higher amount of the waste Levy to deal with increase in cost to manage waste.

f. That Councils are the best placed government bodies to develop new strategies and industries to better manage waste for their communities.

NSW Country Mayors has resolved to:

1 Urge the Minister for Local Government take action by: a. Establishing a Waste Levy Task Force consisting of EPA, Mayors and

LGNSW to begin immediate action to address the waste concerns of LGAs

b. Returning the full amount of the waste Levy to LGA’s till there is an acceptable outcome agreed to by all parties.

2 Take their own action by establishing a working group of Country Mayors to:

a. identifying the total amount of waste levies collected by the NSW Government from regional Councils

b. Identifying the amount spent by the NSW government on waste reduction strategies in regional areas

c. identifying strategies for regional councils to withhold payment of the waste levy might be implemented if the NSW Government does not agree to form the task force recommended in (2) above

AGENDA


Item 11.1

d. bringing a report back to the next meeting of the Country Mayors outlining options available to Country Mayors to get action on the Waste Levy, including consideration of the withholding of payment of the levy.

e. establishing a working group comprising Michael Pearce (Uralla Shire Council), Peter Petty (Tenterfield Shire Council), Amanda Findley (Shoalhaven City Council) Tracey Norman (Dungog Shire Council) and Dominic King (Bellingen Shire Council).

At a state level, it is understood that in 2016-17 the NSW Government collected $726m from local government, community, businesses and industry via the waste levy, but only committed to use $72m through its Waste Less Recycle More initiative, or 10 per cent, on waste minimisation and recycling in 2017-18. Overall the NSW Government’s ‘Waste Less Recycle More’ initiative which is due to finish in 2021 allocates $801m over eight years (2013-2021) to waste and recycling. However, the waste levy collected over that same period will be over $4.62b.

It is noted that the NSW Environment Protection Authority is currently preparing a 20-year Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy for NSW (WARRS). The strategy is to be co-designed with input from stakeholders and the community.

In the context of the foregoing it is critical that the WARRS recognise the imperative for significant investment in both research and development, and implementation of on ground infrastructure to enable Australia to respond to the waste crises and manage its waste in a sustainable manner. It is also critical that there is no delay in significantly extending and increasing the Waste Less Recycle More funding, considering the critical issues local government and the waste industry are currently facing, and that this funding be further leveraged with Federal government funding.

To this end the following motion is proposed for consideration at the upcoming LGNSW Annual conference:

That Local Government NSW strongly advocates to the NSW government to ensure the Waste and Recycling Strategy currently under development recognises the imperative for significant investment in both research and development, and implementation of on ground infrastructure to enable Australia to respond to the waste crises and manage its waste in a sustainable manner and that there is no delay in extending and significantly increasing the Waste Less Recycle More funding.

4 CLIMATE EMERGENCY

Climate emergency The term climate emergency recognises that the Earth has reached key climate tipping points and that incremental action, i.e. gradual reduction of emissions over several decades, is no longer a reasonable course of action if we want a future for ourselves and our children. For a viable future the world needs to go to net negative emissions as soon as possible. This will require:

• zero emissions across all sectors as soon as possible • drawing down excess greenhouse gases on an ‘industrial’ scale using various

strategies • whatever else it takes to create cooling fast.

AGENDA


Item 11.1

With both state and national governments failing to stop or reverse global warming, we need to make progress where it can be. To date 380 countries have passed a motion around climate emergency internationally. The goal is that higher levels of government use regulatory and economic instruments to help reverse global warming so the most important action of councils is to build pressure on higher levels of government for emergency action through making a climate emergency declaration, direct advocacy and building community pressure though education about the emergency and its solutions. On 27 March 2019 Bellingen Shire Council considered a Mayoral Minute in relation to declaration of a Climate Emergency and resolved as follows: 1. Bellingen Shire Council declares that “we are in a state of climate emergency that

requires urgent action by all levels of government, including by local councils” and that council:



c. Acknowledges that Bellingen Shire is, and is likely to be further affected by climate impacts, particularly sea level rise, bushfires, severe storms, drought and floods,

d. Recognises we are in a state of emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government, that human induced climate change represents one of the greatest threats to humanity, civilisation, and other species, and that it is still possible to prevent the most catastrophic outcomes if, and only if, societies take emergency action now.

e. Participates in a Climate Emergency workshop by the end of 2019 to examine how our community strategic plan, works program and planning documents can address the Climate emergency, and results in an outline of options available to council to operationalise this emergency declaration.

2. Calls upon the State and Federal Governments to:

a. Declare a climate emergency, and b. To back this up with legislated programs to drive emergency action to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions and meet the lower of the Paris Agreements at 1.5%.

To this end the following motion is proposed for consideration at the upcoming LGNSW Annual conference: That Local Government NSW declares that “we are in a state of climate emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government, including by local councils and Local Government NSW” and that Local Government NSW:



AGENDA


Item 11.1

c. Acknowledges that local government areas across the state are, and are likely to be further affected by climate impacts, particularly sea level rise, bushfires, severe storms, drought and floods,

d. Recognises we are in a state of emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government, that human induced climate change represents one of the greatest threats to humanity, civilisation, and other species, and that it is still possible to prevent the most catastrophic outcomes if, and only if, societies take emergency action now.

e. Reviews its strategic priorities and corporate planning documents to identify how it can also respond to and address the Climate emergency, and develop an outline of options available to operationalise this emergency declaration.

2. Calls upon the State and Federal Governments to:

a. Declare a climate emergency, and b. To back this up with legislated programs to drive emergency action to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions and meet the lower of the Paris Agreements at 1.5%.

5 PLASTIC SILAGE In July 2018 Council resolved that Council write to the Federal Department of

Environment and Energy, with a copy to LGNSW seeking the addition of silage wrap to

the National Product Stewardship Act 2011 list of products.

In response to Council’s resolution, correspondence was received from the Federal

Department of Environment and Energy which indicated that:

• environmental health and safety impacts of products are regulated under the

Product Stewardship Act 2011

• the Act was under review

• forums to receive feedback were underway

• council’s correspondence was being treated as input

• the review was anticipated to be finished in 2019

In the context of the foregoing it is important to note that the issue remains of priority to farmers and specifically, the costs for disposal of silage is high, with an escalating impost

on farmers in the currently challenging drought conditions, so that an environmentally

sustainable alternative is sought.

To this end the following motion is proposed for consideration at the upcoming LGNSW

Annual conference:

That Local Government NSW undertake advocacy to both the NSW and Australian

Governments to fund research and development, as well as investment in infrastructure to

address silage waste in a timely way.

ATTACHMENTS Nil

AGENDA


12 CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS

Nil

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