Late Items Agenda of Council - Monday, 27 July 2020

Council 27 July 2020 Item 9.1

MINUTE OF THE LORD MAYOR

ITEM NUMBER 9.1

SUBJECT Local Government Exclusion from National Cabinet

REFERENCE F2019/03630 - D07556994

REPORT OF Lord Mayor, Councillor Bob Dwyer

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this Lord Mayoral Minute is to seek Council endorsement to write to the Premier, and to all local Federal and State Members of Parliament, expressing Council’s disappointment that local government is not represented on the newly formed National Cabinet and seeking their assistance in requesting that First Ministers review the decision to exclude local government.

Recommendation:

(a) That Council sends a letter to the Premier, and to all local Federal and State Members of Parliament, which highlights the critical necessity for Local Government representation on the newly formed National Cabinet and seeks their assistance in requesting that First Ministers review the decision to exclude Local Government.

(b) That Council seeks a meeting with our local Federal and State Members to discuss in more detail the importance of having local government representation on National Cabinet and the value of partnerships with Councils in achieving the objectives of the National Cabinet and the national reform agenda.

(c) Further, that Council notes that the Australian Local Government Association, Local Government NSW and other state/territory local government associations will continue to advocate for local government representation on the National Cabinet and for Local Government’s interests in all relevant forums.

BACKGROUND

1. On 13 March 2020, as the Coronavirus pandemic took hold around the world, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) met in Sydney to discuss a range of issues of national importance. At that meeting First Ministers (the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers) agreed to establish a National Cabinet to meet at least weekly to address the country’s response to the coronavirus. The focus was primarily on the health and wellbeing of Australians and managing the health response. Over time National Cabinet has broadened its agenda to include a focus on managing coronavirus impacts across Australia. There was no Local Government representation on National Cabinet when it was established on the basis that its focus was on health.

2. On 29 May 2020, First Ministers, through the Prime Minister, announced the continuation of National Cabinet, which they considered to be a much more effective body than COAG for taking decisions in the national interest. Local Government was not given a seat at the National Cabinet table. However, ALGA as the national representative body of Local Government, was given a seat on the National Federation Reform Council (NFRC). The NFRC will meet once a year to focus on priority national federation issues such as Closing the Gap and Women’s Safety. In addition to ALGA, the NFRC is comprised of the National Cabinet and the Council of Federal Financial Relations – Federal and State/Territory Treasurers.

3. The President of ALGA had been a member of COAG since it was convened by Prime Minister Keating in 1992. Local Government was included because all parties recognised that Australia has three levels of government and that the Government with most impact on people’s daily lives in terms of the provision of local services and infrastructure is Local Government.

4. Decisions about how our Federation works and how it can be improved or reformed require all three levels of government working together to align their policies and programs. Australians expect the decisions of government affecting them to reflect their grass roots views and to be implemented at the local level as well as the state and national level. This was the case with the development and implementation of the National Competition Policy in the 1990s which included reform at the local government level as well as the National and State levels in areas such as water supply and infrastructure provision through procurement.

5. National Cabinet, and the Commonwealth Government in particular, are looking towards pro-growth policies to lift investment and get Australians back to work. With a focus on jobs growth they are seeking ways to enable parts of the economy to grow. Local Governments are willing and necessary partners in developing and implementing reform. Reform involving the streamlining of legislation and regulation requires all the levels of government which are involved in regulation working together to achieve the benefits of reform for everyone without imposing costs or burdens on local communities. Getting it right on the ground is Local Government’s area of strength.

6. Councils facilitate, establish, and grow local businesses and economies. Economic development has always been at the core of every successful council. Councils support economic growth through regional development policies and initiatives, strategic and land use planning, targeted investment attraction, prioritisation of local procurement, and focusing their annual investment on infrastructure that serves the community and business alike. Many councils also provide business networking opportunities, business training, mentoring, and incubator facilities and employment hubs. It is local government that is best placed to drive locally-led recovery

7. The challenge facing National Cabinet over the coming months is unlike any which has faced Australian governments in recent times and it will require the concerted, coordinated and complementary efforts of all three levels of government to rebuild consumer confidence, support business and recreate millions of jobs.

8. Australians expect their three levels of government to be working together, and to see evidence of that. Including Local Government in National Cabinet would demonstrate a strong unity of purpose and a combined commitment to promote and implement National Cabinet decisions across the broadest implementation platform available to government.

9. This Minute proposes correspondence be prepared and sent to the Premier, and all local Federal and State Members of Parliament to express Council’s disappointment that local government is not represented on the newly formed National Cabinet and seeking their assistance in requesting that First Ministers review the decision to exclude local government.

10. City of Parramatta’s local State and Federal Members of Parliament are:

· The Hon Dr Geoff Lee MP, Member for Parramatta

· The Hon Dominic Perrottet MP, Member for Epping

· The Hon Victor Dominello MP, Member for Ryde

· The Hon David Elliott MP, Member for Baulkham Hills

· Mark Taylor MP, Member for Seven Hills

· Julia Finn MP, Member for Granville

· Lynda Voltz MP, Member for Auburn

· Julie Owens MP, Federal Member for Parramatta

· The Hon Alex Hawke MP, Federal Member for Mitchell

· Michelle Rowland MP, Federal Member for Greenway

· John Alexander OAM MP, Federal Member for Bennelong

· Julian Leeser MP, Federal Member for Berowra

· Dr Fiona Martin MP, Federal Member for Reid

FINANCIAL IMPLICATION FOR COUNCIL

11. There are no new implications for Council as a result of this Lord Mayoral Minute.

Lord Mayor, Councillor Bob Dwyer

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.

REFERENCE MATERIAL

Council 27 July 2020 Item 9.2

MINUTE OF THE LORD MAYOR

ITEM NUMBER 9.2

SUBJECT Parramatta Park and the new Greater Sydney Parklands Agency

REFERENCE F2019/03630 - D07557232

REPORT OF Lord Mayor, Councillor Bob Dwyer

PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Lord Mayoral Minute is to seek Council endorsement to write to The Hon Rob Stokes MP, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, to seek clarification on the dissolution of Parramatta Park Trust, and the purpose and practices of the new Greater Sydney Parklands agency.

Recommendation:

(a) That Council write to The Hon Rob Stokes MP, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, to seek a better understanding of the reasons for the need to dissolve the Parramatta Park Trust, and an explanation of the purpose, roles and responsibilities of the new centralised Greater Sydney Parklands agency; and

(b) Further, that this letter seek to confirm what opportunities will be available to the City of Parramatta Council to be able to communicate with and contribute to the new agency to discuss local open space needs and matters in Parramatta Park, and how Parramatta Park inter-relates to the overall development and strategic direction of Parramatta as Sydney’s Central River City.

BACKGROUND

1. Parramatta Park is 85 hectares of green open space featuring historic sites and attractions, sports fields and ovals, established gardens and remnant bushland, picnic spots and playground, memorials and monuments, waterways and wildlife, cycleways and walking tracks.

2. Parramatta Park is one of the oldest public parks in the world and welcomes more than two million visitors every year. There is evidence of 20,000 years of Aboriginal occupation and land use and it was a Vice-Regal domain from 1788. In 1858 it was gazetted a ‘People’s Park’, one of the earliest in the world.

3. The Park’s rich and unique history was recognised in 2010 when it was inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of eleven Australian sites forming the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage property.

4. The Parramatta Park Trust, pursuant to the Parramatta Park Trust Act 2001, previously managed Parramatta Park.

5. On 17 July 2020, the NSW Government launched a new draft 50-Year Vision for Greater Sydney’s network of parklands and green open spaces, to establish a first-ever metropolitan-wide plan for Greater Sydney’s open spaces and parklands.

6. The NSW Government’s first step towards their vision was through the establishment of a Greater Sydney Parklands agency.

7. The Greater Sydney Parklands agency will coordinate and manage existing and potentially new NSW Government-owned open spaces and parklands, including Parramatta Park. The agency brings together the Parramatta Park Trust and Western Sydney Parklands Trusts, Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust, as well as managing Callan Park and Fernhill Estate.

8. Combined, the agency will oversee more than 6,000 hectares of parklands across Greater Sydney, which host more than 40 million visits each year.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATION FOR COUNCIL

9. There are no new financial implications for Council as a result of this Lord Mayor Minute.

Lord Mayor, Councillor Bob Dwyer

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.

REFERENCE MATERIAL

Council 27 July 2020 Item 10.1

PUBLIC FORUM

ITEM NUMBER 10.1

SUBJECT PUBLIC FORUM 1: Item 18.2 Gateway Request: Planning Proposal for land at 1 Windsor Road, North Rocks

REFERENCE RZ/9/2019 -

FROM ANGUS WHITE

Thank you for the opportunity to address the meeting this evening.

Over the past 9 months since we lodged the Planning Proposal, we have appreciated the opportunity to engage with Council planning staff to ensure the proposal meets Council strategic objectives and delivers positive outcomes for local residents. We are pleased that Council staff have recommended the proposal for approval to proceed to the Gateway, as tabled this evening.

The Planning Proposal seeks only an “additional permitted use” on the site to allow for a full-line supermarket, reusing the vacant Bunnings building. If approved, our plans will renew the existing site and inject $20 million of investment into the local economy. The plans will provide significant benefits for the local community.

The proposal would directly create 200 ongoing local retail jobs, including a number of youth employment opportunities, plus more than 100 jobs during construction. With the multiplier effect of this direct investment, our economic report estimates a further 1,000 indirect employment opportunities created for the LGA.

Importantly, the plans address some of the undersupply of supermarket floor space within the area, and provide community benefit with improved access to food and grocery shopping in an area of population growth.

There is a current undersupply of more than 7,000m2 of supermarket floor space in the trading area. Even with the delivery of our supermarket proposal, there would still be an undersupply of more than 3,500m2. This need will increase in the future if no additional supermarkets are provided.

The population of the area, at over 44,000, could support five full-line supermarkets with reference to industry benchmarks. One is currently provided, which is the Entrada Coles on Victoria Road in North Parramatta. In addition, the IGA at Northmead is small at around 1,040m2. Full-line supermarkets which serve the weekly shopping needs of local residents are typically 3,200m2 or more.

It is noted that the Local Planning Panel considered that the proposed development should be in or attached to a town or village centre.

Additional economic assessment has been undertaken which identifies there are no sites available that could reasonably accommodate the proposal. In addition, the supermarket’s benefits and lack of adverse impacts at this location should enable it to be delivered at this location.

The proposal will not adversely impact the viability of any nearby centres or supermarkets. The economic impact assessment submitted with the proposal identifies that expected impacts are within the competitive range of 10% or less.

Population growth has been realised and is continuing in the immediate area of the proposed development with the recently completed Darling Mills residential development, the Parramatta North Urban Renewal Area and a number of other private and public developments under construction, recently completed or planned.

Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement identifies that the population is expected to grow from 235,000 to 433,000 over the 20 year period. With this level of growth, the existing undersupply of supermarket floor space will become even more significant. In addition, the Central City District Plan identifies that more than 1.76 million square metres of additional retail floor space is needed over the next 20 years. Existing centres will not be capable of delivering this amount of floor space. Importantly, given the growth of population in areas away from those centres, new retail uses need to follow this growth to meet local needs.

We trust that Council recognises the proposal provides significant benefits, particularly in terms of addressing the undersupply of supermarket floor space, providing community benefit in terms of convenient services, and importantly creating significant employment opportunities.

Thank you for your time and the opportunity to address Council this evening.

STAFF RESPONSE

No staff response required.

Attachments:

There are no attachments for this report.