Ballina Shire Council’s conservative majority got its way with several contentious issues at its last meeting.
The meeting opened with condolences to the Victorian Police after the shooting death of two officers at Porepunkah last week, when they were trying to serve a warrant.
There were deputations for and against deferred matters relating to conservation zones at Teven (test cases), and another from Richmond Landcare’s Louissa Rogers in relation to the Northern Rivers Resilience Initative, and the need to consider nature-based solutions as part of the CSIRO’s flood mitigation strategy for the region.
In the complex matter of the Teven Test Cases, amendments were put forward by Crs Kiri Dicker and Erin Karsten, and then Phil Meehan and Eva Ramsey, but each failed to find support.
The original motion to adopt the six guiding principles and other recommendations from staff ultimately went through, with only Cr Meehan opposed.
‘Absurd’ flood mitigation suggestions
Another environmental argument followed, with Cr Kiri Dicker suggesting that Ballina Council make a written submission to the Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative congratulating the CSIRO on their hydrodynamic work for the Richmond River Catchment, but expressing concern at the methodology used, with some of the proposed engineering responses described as ‘pretty absurd’.
The motion further noted that:
- No information was provided on the origin of the proposed solutions or the level of scientific rigour applied.
- Proposed solutions did not consider the likely impacts on river health or First Nations cultural heritage, or local economies, causing angst and upset in the community.
- The expectation that members of the public could reliably rank the proposed solutions in order of preference with almost no explanation about what they entailed was unrealistic and constitutes poor practice in community engagement.
- None of the proposed solutions were nature-based (e.g. the restoration of riparian zones) despite their proven capacity to mitigate flooding and benefit the health of the river.
- Online submissions were limited to 40 words, which iwas inadequate given the complexity of the issue and its importance to local communities.
In relation to Ballina, Cr Dicker suggested that the NRRI be reminded of Council’s endorsed position on proposed solutions within its jurisdiction, including:
-
Bagotville Barrage divides the old Tuckean Swamp. Photo David Lowe Ballina Council’s recent resolution to support the work currently being undertaken to restore the Tuckean Swamp (rather than undertaking further drainage to this area)
- the fact that a levee for Ballina has been investigated and modelled by Council on numerous occasions and found to be unfeasible and it is therefore not a good use of public money to further investigate this solution.
- that culverts in West Ballina have been investigated and modelled by Council and are supported, and that any money spent further modelling this solution would be better spent implementing the proposed works.
‘The process lacks transparency,’ said Cr Dicker. ‘It considers flood mitigation in isolation from the health of our river, which is the sickest river in NSW, it’s undemocratic and it risks repeating mistakes of the past.’
Cr Phil Meehan was unmoved by all this and successfully moved to put the motion to an immediate vote, preventing any debate. As a result, the motion was lost, finding support only from Crs Simon Chate, Erin Karsten and Kiri Dicker.
Ballina Council resolved to put the latest draft Local Strategic Planning Statement on exhibition for 28 days, with Cr Dicker noting community concerns about the large areas of strategic urban growth included, and what she described as ‘a green light for developers to put in planning proposals for land that’s flood prone and inappropriate in other ways.’
That document is now open for community feedback, along with an amended policy about burials on private rural lands.
Financial and other matters
Ballina Council approved an additional $1 million of spending on the Sharpes Beach car park, an additional $415,000 for the Ballina Pump Track and accompanying works at Kingsford Smith Park, and $5,000 towards the Richmond River Sailing Club Ramp, with the new SES building to be funded from a mixture of local and state monies.
A donation of $6,368 was approved to the Little Village for their clothes swap project.
Councillors voted unanimously for a ‘community engagement approach’ for an application to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal for a proposed four year Special Rate Variation of 6 per cent per annum, commencing in 2026/27.
The contentious issue of whether councillor’s alcohol expenses at functions should be covered by public money then returned to the spotlight, with a rescission motion brought by Greens councillors attempting to revisit the previous meeting’s decision.
Cr Simon Chate said the response from the community indicated that ‘the vast majority of ratepayers in communication with us were uncomfortable with… a bottomless bar tab that is dependent on councillors doing the right thing.’
He went on to say, ‘Imagine we’re at a Local Government NSW conference, and a bunch of councillors decide to go out to dinner. As this entire weekend is considered to be Council business, alcohol is considered appropriate refreshment, and one of our councillors orders a couple of bottles of wine for the table.
‘There are ten people at the table. The wine is quickly consumed during dinner, and another couple of bottles are ordered as well, as well as a couple of beers on another table… maybe another bottle and a couple of ports. At the end of the night, the bill for Council ends up being, say, $266 for alcohol alone.
‘Every meeting we are talking we talk about our financial plight,’ he said. ‘We’re in significant deficit in the general reserve. We’re in the process of asking our ratepayers to fund the special rate variation so we can start to complete some of the projects on our schedule and put ourselves in a better position, one where we can do more for our shire, and yet we’re asking ratepayers as well to foot the bill for alcohol at function.
‘I’m not comfortable with this.’
Unfortunately for Cr Chate and his fellow Greens councillors, the rest of Ballina’s councillors were apparently perfectly comfortable with it, and voted together to prevent the rescission motion proceeding.
There was more agreement over a later motion, brought forward by Cr Damian Loone, that Ballina Council accept a report commissioned by Local Government NSW showing that cost shifting was steadily being shifted from the state government to local councils, straining local government organisations across the state.
The decision to highlight this fact to ratepayers and tenants was supported unanimously by Ballina’s councillors.
Cr Therese Crollick was granted leave of absence for the August meeting.
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