Pottsville telecom DA
Councillors will consider a DA amendment for a telecommunications facility at 1126 Pottsville Road, Pottsville.
The staff report notes that original assessment of DA22/0088 – on privately owned land – was previously refused.
The report reads, ‘The Review of Determination application was reported to the 30 November 2023 Extraordinary Planning Committee Meeting with a recommendation of refusal. The Planning Committee determined to approve the proposal against assessment officers’ recommendation, and conditional approval was issued on 4 December 2023.’
Staff have recommend approval, ‘subject to the recommended amendments to conditions’, which include a planning agreement.
The applicant is Indara Corporation Pty Ltd and the owner is Turner Contracting Pty Limited.
Cudgen Lakes Sand Quarry objection
A proposed modification of the Gales-Kingscliff Pty Ltd Cudgen Lakes Sand Quarry has prompted Tweed Shire Council staff to provide a draft submission outlining their concerns.
If approved by councillors, it will be sent to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI).
Staff say in their report, ‘The issues raised by the draft submission include: traffic; ecology; environmental health; and planning matters’.
‘The draft submission concludes that the proposed development is formally objected to, noting that Council officers are happy to liaise with the Department / proponent to further discuss any outstanding matters. The intention of this report is to seek Council’s endorsement of the attached draft submission and resolution to forward the endorsed submission to the Department for their consideration’.
Community asset licence fee review delayed
Staff have tabled an update on the progress of the ‘Community Assets Licence Fee Review’ and seeks councillor endorsement to extend existing community licence agreements for a further 12 months under current terms and conditions to allow the review to be completed.
The report says Council manages more than 100 community buildings and facilities that support connection, recreation, culture, wellbeing, and early childhood education. These facilities are occupied by a broad mix of licensees, ranging from volunteer-run community groups and not-for-profit organisations to commercially operated entities with greater financial capacity
‘Early findings indicate significant variation in fees, terms, and management practices, reinforcing the need for a consistent approach that recognises community benefit, financial capacity, and the ongoing costs of asset maintenance and renewal.’
Monthly Investment Report
Staff have tabled Council’s monthly investment report, outlining Council’s ethical investment metrics by two institutions – Market Forces and Australian Ethical Investments Pty Ltd.
According to Market Forces, Council has Non Fossil Fuel Lending ADIs at $368,100,000 (representing 64.2% of the total portfolio), while according to Australian Ethical Investments Pty Ltd, ethical investments are $256,200,000 ‘which represents 44.7% of the total portfolio’.
The staff report reads, ‘Market Forces classify a significant number of second and third tier ADI’s as a non-fossil fuel lending institutions, but not CBA, NAB or Westpac’.
‘Australian Ethical classify NAB and Westpac as ethical investment institutions, but not CBA, Australian Commonwealth Government or NSW Treasury Corporation’.
According to the staff report, ‘Council’s Investment Portfolio Council’s investment portfolio is conservatively structured in accordance with NSW Office of Local Government guidelines with 84.41% of the portfolio held in cash and term deposits’.
‘Term deposits and bonds are paying average margins over the 90-day bank bill rate. The benchmark 90-day bank bill rate averaged 3.58% pa during the month.
‘The benchmark 90-day bank bill rate was 3.58% last month (unchanged). Council received $1,839,896 interest for the month which equates to 3.92% as an annualised return (4.49% last month).
‘This figure does not include interest accrued for the month and just compares actual interest paid to the closing portfolio value. Overall, the investment portfolio’s weighted interest rate yield at the end of the month was 4.37%.
‘This was 0.79% above the benchmark 90-day bank bill rate for the month. The interest rate yield curve is inverted to flat from about the 6-month mark, which means 6-month interest rates are higher than 1 to 4 year rates. This suggests the market expects interest rates to peak in the short term and then gradually decrease in the medium term’.
Commentary on the Australian economy was provided, as sourced by Treasury Corporation NSW.
It reads, ‘The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left interest rates unchanged in September, as was widely expected, but expressed some concern about the upside surprises to inflation in July and August’.
‘Although the surprises were partly due to the timing of electricity rebates, higher inflation in some domestic services components and housing construction cost has raised concerns that inflation may have accelerated in the September quarter. Economic data released in September was also generally stronger than expected.
‘The Australian economy grew by 0.6% in the June quarter, slightly above the consensus estimate of 0.5%. The upside surprise was driven by stronger consumer spending, which has been very weak over the past few years. The housing market looks to be strengthening. House prices have risen solidly in recent months and building approvals in some states – particularly NSW – have increased.
‘The unemployment rate remained steady, with RBA still viewing the labour market as “a little tight”. Investors and many economists are now expecting only one more rate cut by the RBA this cycle, which is seen as most likely to occur in either February or May 2026’.
Disposal of property asset
A ‘Notice of Intention to Dispose’ of a part interest in 15 Margaret Street, Tweed Heads will be before councillors.
The report reads, ‘The property consists of eight self-contained units, which were constructed following the grant in 1992 of joint funding to the then Department of Housing and Council for an aged persons housing project under the then Local Government and Community Housing Program’.
Staff say the property is jointly owned by NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC). LAHC is the majority landowner.
‘On 19 May, 1993, Council approved acceptance of the tender to construct the units and paid $100,000 to LAHC as Council’s contribution to the project. In return, Council was provided with a 1/5th interest in the property’.
Staff say on 5 September 2025, Homes NSW officers contacted Council asking to discuss renewal of existing lease agreements or any future plans for the property.
They write, ‘Following a review of the property and the leasing arrangement in place, Council officers determined that there was little value to Council in retaining the 1/5th ownership of the property, and that the property should be transferred to LAHC/Homes NSW to own entirely.’
‘If LAHC/Homes NSW were to own the property in its entirety, then they could more easily lease it to Northern Rivers Housing. This is because Council’s written consent to any leasing arrangement would not be required. Council officers propose to dispose of Council’s 1/5th interest to Homes NSW.
‘A current market valuation will be obtained to determine an acceptable compensation amount to Council’.
Staff recommend councillors dispose of the land ‘in special circumstances in accordance with Council’s Policy on the Disposal of Land v1.3 and invites written submissions on the proposal be made within 28 days from the date of advertisement’.
Negative feedback over affordable and/or social housing projects
Councillor Kimberly Hone will move a motion that ‘Council invites Homes NSW to present to councillors on their model of where they place housing, what type of housing they are choosing and are they in line with Tweed Shire’s Strategies and community expectations’.
She writes, ‘Recently there has been State Significant developments of multiple story unit-style affordable and/or social housing projects in built up areas of the Tweed that are attracting large amounts of negative feedback from the surrounding community.
‘Due to the State Significance of these projects, council has little say in their initiation and implementation and these projects are not obligated to meet current council planning policies. I want to ensure that the appropriate community consultation has been undertaken and that the State Governments approach to the housing crisis is balanced, appropriate and safe for tenants and local residents. The best approach to fixing this housing crisis in the Tweed is to build a variety of homes including but not limited to units. And the best form of social housing in an integrated model that steers away from condensed style living’.
Staff replied to the motion with: ‘The proposal is supported in principle as a means to improve mutual understanding of policy alignment, and for Councillors to provide feedback arising from concerns raised by local communities’.
Open governmance
Councillor James Owen has put a motion forward requiring ‘all official written correspondence from Tweed Shire Council to be signed off by a named officer, including their position title and relevant contact details’.
He writes, ‘Effective communication is at the heart of good governance and customer service. Some, correspondence from Tweed Shire Council is signed off under anonymous departmental titles such as “Engineering,” rather than by an identified officer or staff member’.
His motion also ‘Directs the General Manager to update communication guideline and staff procedures to reflect this requirement; and ‘Notes that correspondence signed off under generic departmental titles (e.g. ‘Engineering’ or ‘Planning’) does not meet best practice standards for customer service and should be phased out immediately.’
In reply, an unnamed staff member under the heading ‘management comments’ said, ‘The majority of the correspondence from Council to customers has a Council Officer identified’.
‘Due to delegations, there may be instances when the name of a Manager, Director or General Manager is required to be used, rather than the officer dealing with the issue. Management will request an officer’s name is included on all outgoing correspondence.
‘However, in many cases the contact details provided will be the official council email and contact number. It is also important to consider the customer experience to ensure someone is available to answer any subsequent queries, including times when the relevant officer is unavailable or leaves the organisation.
‘Using an official mail box and contact number (such as [email protected] or 02 6670 2400) is best practice for customer experience and efficiency, with Council’s Contact Centre able to answer 80% of enquiries at the first point of contact.
‘Use of an official email and phone number creates efficiencies and allows for record keeping and allocation within the Customer Request System.
‘It also enables specific dedicated staff within the Record and Contact Centre to respond to routine enquiries allowing for more senior staff to focus on strategy and delivery.
‘There are some instances where an Officer identification sign-off has not been used: • where the Officers details are contained in the attached letter, • or it is a bulk mailout, • or due to when it is best triaged by other staff, • or where there is a need for anonymity, particularly in areas of regular customer aggression including the Rangers team and customer service’.
The unnamed staff member said (some) ‘Actions have been undertaken and noted and so do not require a report back to Council’.
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