Tweed Council’s latest meeting included motions on solar panel recycling, free speech, financial sustainability and Clarrie Hall Dam.
A motion from Cr Nola Firth noted that 95 per cent of solar panels are recyclable, and that Tweed Shire needed to step up its game with the recycling and reuse of solar panels.
Council resolved to bring back a report in the near future investigating a response to this growing problem, including the possibility of participating in the National Solar Panel Recycling Pilot.
Following the well-publicised ructions last month, a motion from Cr Kimberly Hone on free speech was amended by progressive councillors, led by Mayor Chris Cherry, to emphasise the importance of free political communication in local government, while noting that this is not an unrestricted right and operates alongside other legal and regulatory obligations.
The carried amendment said, ‘In the context of council meetings, meaningful democratic debate is supported not only by the ability of councillors to express differing views, but also by compliance with the Local Government Act 1993, Council’s Code of Meeting Practice and Council’s Code of Conduct.
‘These frameworks are designed to ensure that debate remains respectful, orderly, relevant to the matter under consideration, and consistent with good governance principles.’
Financial sustainability
After much debate about council financial sustainability, a staged approach to the indoor sports and aquatic facility was adopted, with Crs Byrnes, Dennis, Cherry and Firth in favour.
Important reports on Clarrie Hall Dam were discussed, with fewer grants in the current tight financial climate leading to significant unfunded costs associated with the dam (about $150 million of the total $304 million).
Other financial sustainability issues included the need for wastewater upgrades in an environment of rising costs for Council but with developer contributions frozen since 2012.
A $9 million gap in asset maintenance was also identified, with cost cost shifting continuing from state to local government. Councillors were advised by staff to be financially prudent.
176 questions
It is also on the public record, verified by the TSC general manager on video coverage of the last meeting, that Cr James Owen sent in an extraordinary 176 questions for Council staff about the agenda last Monday, three days before the meeting, and then withdrew that request after much of the work had already been done by staff.
Cr Owen said he withdrew because the GM indicated he would be reading all the answers at the meeting to fulfill the new requirements about public disclosures, which he thought would be an imposition on the public.
As for the imposition on staff, when quizzed by Cr Firth about his behaviour, Cr Owen said, ‘There is no cap on the number of questions we can ask… I had interest in the matters and thought we should get some answers on them.’
He then blamed Council staff for being too long-winded in their replies to his questions.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
