Table of Contents
By the Gazette political commentary team
What a night it was at the October Hawkesbury City Council meeting, a packed agenda, a press desk occupied by not 2 but now 3 Council Officers, a fast-moving debate, and very little time for reflection on how the machinery of local government is running.
A Chair and a Union
First, a small victory in workplace health and safety: strategic planner Andrew Kearns long term occupier of the press desk, finally has a chair at the big table. After seeing him awkwardly hover while answering questions for the Director of City Planning, it was a relief to see him properly perched. Whether he’s being paid accordingly for stepping into the Director’s shoes is anyone’s guess, but comfort can be taken in knowing that local government remains one of the few places where the union still packs a punch.
Whether the now vacant Director of City Planning role will eventually be filled on merit or cronyism remains to be seen. It’s worth remembering that before Councillor Eddie Dogramaci found himself, allegedly, on the wrong side of the law by $4,100, he’d claimed as Council expenses, he received an anonymous note from inside Council alleging a rather intimate pathway to promotion. As one wag put it, “ Do you have to get a leg over to get a leg up in Council”
Housing, Water, and Tick-and-Flick Strategies
The agenda began with a rejected proposal to raise flood-prone land levels for future development, a sensible idea, depending on which side of the flood level you sit.
Then came the Western Sydney Regional Affordable Rental Housing Contribution Scheme, adopted by Council. It’s essentially a developer contribution fee to be administered by the State Government, intended to create more affordable rentals. Business groups, however, say it’ll simply hike construction costs, pushing rents even higher. Real relief, they argue, would come from Council finally finishing its Local Environmental Plan (LEP) the decade-delayed zoning map that would allow new housing supply to be unlocked.
Council also voted to put the Hawkesbury-Nepean River System Coastal Management Programme on exhibition. This plan aims to coordinate river and floodplain management a noble goal, but details and delivery will be what counts.
Next came the Thriving Hawkesbury: Beyond Resilience Strategy a document assuring us that “Hawkesbury is a great place to live.” It’s an admirable sentiment, though a touch ironic when senior managers don’t live in the area and some work remotely. Hard to call it “place-based leadership” when the “place” is mostly viewed through a laptop screen outside the Hawkesbury. Only six public submissions were received, the content of which remains conveniently unseen, with Council officer responses indicator they have been accommodated in the document.
A Word on Reconciliation and Respect
Council also agreed to exhibit its Draft Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) a formal framework for strengthening ties with First Nations communities. Some councillors sought reassurance that no group would be given employment or other “advantages,” which says a lot, given Council's optional use of merit-based employment practice, about how far we still must travel on the reconciliation road.
And then, inevitably, a bit of casual racism Australia is renowned for: the term “Uncle” a title of reverence in First Nations culture was tossed around pejoratively to describe the NSW Minister for Local Government, who’s imposing new Code of Meeting Practice rules on Councils. These rules, incidentally, are meant to ensure, among other things that councillors stop swearing at each other during meetings. Good luck with that one.
Follow the Money and the Sewage
Residents wanting to see who’s declared what can now check out the Annual Pecuniary Interests Register the disclosures are in, and they make fine bedtime reading for the civically curious.
Of far greater consequence, however, is the Sewage Loan Refinancing Scheme. The NSW Auditor General value is $152.8 million of the sewage infrastructure Council is handing over to Sydney Water, infrastructure that used to make a profit before this Council got hold of it. The Deputy Mayor went to some length to reassure residents listening into the meeting that "this figure $152.8 is just and accounting thing ...nothing anyone had done, its just some silly person who has said this is how local government has to keep their books"
The end result? A $20 million loan, an asset write down of $152.8 million, and Windsor sewer customers will now foot the bill for the next decade paying for the $20 million loan while managing higher sewage rates than they have been told todate with Sydney Water recently getting approval for an over 11% rise in its charges to customers.
The WestInvest – another Hawkesbury gong
Finally, the WestInvest program a state infrastructure fund meant to deliver key projects, including an emergency evacuation centre for North Richmond. Every other council in Western Sydney is busy cutting ribbons. Hawkesbury, however, seems poised to become the only one to return its grant money unused, as deadlines loom and no projects are complete. The evac centre may end up being a case study in how not to manage opportunity.
Final Thoughts from the Desk
So, in summary:
- We’ve got a chair for the planner but no Director of Planning.
- A housing affordability scheme that may make housing less affordable.
- A river plan that floats, a resilience strategy that ticks boxes, and a reconciliation plan that raises questions.
- A sewage saga that’s left us $172,000,000 poorer in asset write downs & cash
- And a grant program about to evaporate before it ever broke ground.
All in all, business as usual in the Hawkesbury, equal parts comedy, cautionary tale, and civic theatre.
Until next time, keep your eyes on the agenda and your gumboots handy.
Gazette political commentary team writes View from the Press Desk and Hawkesbury Insiders a commentary piece on what our local Political Parties and their representatives are doing for the Hawkesbury. If you would like to contribute to these columns email Editor@hawkesburygazette.com and request to be put in contact with the team.
