From the Council Chamber - meeting Held October 8, 2024
By Pittwater Greens Councillor Miranda Korzy
New councillors were sworn in at Northern Beaches Council’s first meeting of its third term last Tuesday night, where we re-elected Sue Heins as Mayor and established a framework for meetings throughout the next four years.
The extraordinary meeting followed the election of 15 new councillors at the September 14 Local Government election.
Pittwater Ward will be represented by Liberal (Mandeep) Sunny Singh, who stood as an independent, and new Your Northern Beaches Independent Team (YNB) councillor Rowie Dillon. I was also delighted and honoured to be re-elected in Pittwater for the Greens.
In Narrabeen, returning conservative independent Vincent De Luca has been joined by veteran former Warringah Councillor Bob Giltinan who stood on Mr De Luca’s ticket at the election. YNB councillor Ruth Robins was also returned.
With the Liberal Party failing to nominate any members on the Northern Beaches for the election, Ms Heins’ party is now the largest group on council, having won seven seats.
The Greens have secured four seats, with two young councillors, Ethan Hrnjak in Frenchs Forest and Bonnie Harvey in Manly, joining me and returning Curl Curl councillor Kristyn Glanville in the Chamber.
Manly will also be represented by Councillor Candy Bingham, from the Good for Manly party.
The meeting began with councillors either taking an Oath or making an Affirmation of Office, immediately followed by the election unopposed of Ms Heins as Mayor.
Ms Robins and Mr Hrnjak then both nominated for deputy mayor, with the vote carried 10 to 5 in Ms Robins’ favour (For Ms Robins: YNB councillors Nicholas Beaugeard, Dillon, Sarah Grattan, Joeline Hackman, Heins; plus Bingham and Singh. For Mr Hrnjak: Greens councillors Harvey, Hrnjak, Glanville, Korzy; and De Luca.).
Most of these items were uncontroversial. For example, councillors voted by exception (moving motions in a group together) to fill any casual vacancies that could arise within 18 months of the September 14 election by a countback.
That means if a councillor resigns or is forced to leave the post for any reason within the first 18 months of the council term, their replacement will be identified by a countback of votes from the last election. That would save the community the cost of holding yet another poll.
However, under NSW law, if a councillor resigns after 18 months, an election must be held.
Councillor fees and expenses were also passed by exception, with fees fixed at $33,810 each for the current financial year. The mayor will receive an extra $98,510 for her role.
Perhaps one of the most significant motions on the agenda was the Review of the Delegation of Authority to the CEO, Scott Phillips, who is responsible for the council’s operations and carrying out the will of the council between meetings.
The delegations are largely governed by legislation, including the power for the CEO to write off debts, including for rates and charges - which councillors voted unanimously to limit to $20,000.
With loose limits on this delegation, CEOs at other councils have written off significant amounts of money without the awareness of councillors.
For this reason, and given NBC’s financial situation, I asked staff at the meeting for details of how much had been written off in this way over the last financial year - and have since received the following information.
The total number of debts of up to $20,000 that NBC wrote off during the 2023-24 financial year amounted to 77, for a total of $58,729. The top three categories for these were: Outdoor Dining Fees (for a total of $31,347); Annual Food Inspection Fees ($9,974); and Prevention Notices ($5,688).
No overdue rates were written off and the remainder in other categories amounted to $27,381.
Also related to the CEO was the establishment of a panel to review his performance for the period July 22, this year, to June 27, next year. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are automatically members of this panel. Ms Glanville and Ms Bingham nominated for the panel and were unanimously elected.
More controversial were some items in the Code of Meeting Practice. A draft of this document was placed on public exhibition between August 8 and September 8. Additionally, the NSW government currently has its own model Council Code of Meeting Practice under review, including the suggestion to scrap councillor briefings.
Only eight responses to the draft NBC code were received, however, these contained multiple criticisms of the open-ended proposal to ban photography “in the vicinity” of council meetings.
Submissions also voiced concerns about the impact on democratic debate of an earlier proposal (dropped from the draft code), that would have removed the Public Forum from the council meeting and cut time allocated to speakers - both councillors and members of the public - from three to two minutes (except for the mover of a motion.).
Residents also wrote to councillors before the code went on exhibition and again before Tuesday’s meeting.
I moved a number of amendments to the draft Code, seconded by Mr Hrnjak.
First amongst these was a proposal to drop a new provision for the mayor (or meeting chairperson) to “have regard to attendance of members of the public at a meeting” and to move a motion to change the order of business to bring forward items the residents have attended to hear.
I thought it was unfair that the provision applied only to the mayor, however, Mr De Luca pointed out - and staff confirmed - that any councillor can move such a procedural motion (which this new provision allows for.).
I agreed to drop my objection to the clause on those grounds, although it is redundant.
Given the six and a half hour time limit for council meetings - which is often reached - I also moved an amendment for a second 10 minute break during meetings. I told the meeting that this would help councillors refocus as the night wears on, improving the standard of debate and decision making.
In fact, I considered this a minimal improvement to meetings practice. To work effectively, most people need short breaks every hour but to do that, councillors currently risk missing a vote or items of business they intend debating.
I also suggested changes to the draft code to limit the new ban on photography and other forms of recording by stating it would explicitly apply to the council chamber for the period of “one hour before, during and one hour after” a council meeting.
Staff and the mayor recently told councillors that they had received complaints from people who were concerned about their safety if they were photographed at meetings. I was prepared to accept this reason for the ban on photography within the chamber, given that it’s all not permitted in either state or federal Parliamentary chambers.
Later during debate, Ms Bingham repeated these concerns about privacy saying: “A number of people have said to me that they don’t want to be filmed.”
However, these amendments were voted down by a majority of councillors (For: Glanville, Harvey, Hrnjak and Korzy. Against: Beaugeard, Bingham, De Luca, Dillon, Hackman, Heins, Grattan, Giltinan, Robins, Singh, Williams.).
In an attempt to salvage limits on the photography ban, Mr Hrnjak then moved a further amendment that retained the phrase “within the council chamber” but removing the time limitation.
Ms Robins then proposed an addition accepted by Mr Hrnjak, that photography could be authorised by a resolution of the council.
I opposed this amendment, because it’s unlikely anyone concerned about their safety is going to speak out and draw further attention to themselves before a vote to allow photography or other recordings is proposed. Further, the clause is redundant because the CEO is already empowered under the code to allow photography in certain circumstances - giving a vote to councillors simply politicises the decision. I also objected to the lack of a time limit on the ban.
However, all councillors except myself supported the amendment eventually.
Another item of housekeeping, but which is important for councillors in identifying their areas of interest was a vote to elect appoint members to committees for the term.
Of particular relevance to Pittwater were the election of Ms Dillon to: the Friends of the Bible Garden Memorial committee; the Community Safety Advisory Committee; the Business and Industry Stakeholder Committee; and as an observer to the Currawong State Park Advisory Committee.
Also joining the Business and Industry Stakeholder Committee was Mr Singh.
I was re-elected as a voting member to the Currawong State Park Advisory Committee and as the council’s voting member on the executive of the Sydney Coastal Councils Group - which I was deputy chair of last term.
I also raised my hand to co-chair the Rural Fire Service Bush Fire Management Committee, arguing that Pittwater is one of the council’s wards most exposed to bushfire risk, that I’ve worked on the related bush regeneration issues last term, and that I had experience as a returning councillor.
However, the Mayor recommended, and a vote confirmed, Mr Williams and Ms Hackman as co-chairs (although the latter graciously offered to share the position with me.) The Mayor then advised I could attend as an observer - so as we approach a summer which the Bureau of Meteorology now projects will be extremely hot, I will at least be able to hear discussions about bushfire related issues at this committee.
Two other small items were buried in the Attachments, outlining Terms of Reference for the Community Safety Advisory Committee and Business and Industry Stakeholder Committee. Of concern to me were an alteration in each of them that eliminated the requirement for staff to report the final minutes of these committees to council, that is: “Meeting minutes will be reported to Councillors by a method as determined by the Chief Executive officer.”
The CEO verbally suggested that staff would publish the minutes in the weekly bulletin sent to councillors - however, these are only draft minutes.
I moved an amendment for minutes of these committees to continue to be reported to council in meeting papers for transparency’s sake, and noting that they are usually passed by exclusion anyway.
Ms Glanville, who seconded the amendment, also noted that: “By placing minutes in the council papers, it draws the attention of the community to the work of councillors on the committee.
“Councillors are also more likely to read what’s on the council papers than in the Councillor Bulletins, sometimes under a cryptic heading.”
Councillors voted unanimously to support this amendment.
The CEO later told the meeting that he had suggested the changes because he had been asked to find ways to cut items from the agenda to reduce the length of meetings.
My concern with this item, and similarly earlier suggestions to cut the amount of time allowed to speakers, is that it will lead to a slow erosion of democratic debate and transparency on council. The council vote on Tuesday for next year’s meeting schedule did little to take the time pressure off meetings.
All councillors except myself and Ms Harley supported the schedule. I deliberately called the motion out for debate, telling the meeting I thought the draft was an improvement on the previous year’s timetable, with a meeting now to take place in July bringing the total number up to 11 (10 is the minimum required by the state government).
In the past councillors have not been scheduled to meet between June and August - although we had a number of extraordinary meetings throughout the year to debate important issues like the draft Local Environment Plan as well as items left over from previous meetings.
Councillors lose concentration in the long meetings, debate grows less constructive and there are calls for speeches to be curtailed - another attack on democracy, I said. I had raised the suggestion for more frequent meetings on a number of occasions - including moving a motion for them - so said I would not do that again. However, I voted against the motion.
Council meetings next year will therefore take place on the following Tuesdays:
- February 18
- March 18
- April 15
- May 20
- June 17
- July 15
- August 19
- September 16
- October 21
- November 18
- December 16.
- The remainder of meetings for this year are scheduled for:
- October 15 (next Tuesday)
- November 12 and
- December 10.