Council heading to Local Government NSW Annual Conference

Published on 27 July 2022

Murray River Council will be attending the 2022 Local Government NSW Annual Conference.

Council resolved to send the Mayor, CEO and two councillors to the conference at its council meeting held on Tuesday.

Murray River Council Mayor, Cr Chris Bilkey said the annual LGNSW conference is an opportunity to share ideas and discuss issues facing the local government sector.

“The conference provides a platform for us to collectively look at how we can best strengthen the Local Government sector in NSW and improve services and conditions for local communities.”

“Our voice is important on these matters, and we need to be at the table, otherwise recommendations and policies inevitably cater to our metropolitan counterparts.”

One of the more topical subjects council is looking to get tabled at the conference surrounds issues with the NSW Government’s e-planning portal.

“This portal needs serious review. It’s just not working for regional councils” Cr Bilkey said. 

“A simple development submitted through the portal is creating unprecedented inefficiencies at a time when councils have received and are processing an unprecedented number of applications.”

“One of the major issues is that the portal has limited filtering ability to determine the minimum documentation required depending on the council area and type of application. This is causing applicants to spend money on documents that council may not actually need to make a decision.”

“And the list goes one.”

‘’We are calling for a review into the portal to ensure we have a system that works for all stakeholders.”

The LGNSW Annual Conference will be held 23 -25 October 2022 in the Hunter Valley.