Council Connect: 19 September 2025

Published on 19 September 2025

Well, happy Friday and welcome to this week's Council Connect. I’m Deputy Mayor Alexandria Carruthers. I'm going to keep it short and sweet so that you can get the information you need and then get on with your day.

So, first on the agenda was Wednesday night's council meeting. Several things happened there, and I have a quick advocacy update. We have the Local Government New South Wales conference coming up in November, so we reviewed the motions we plan to support as part of that. I'll include a link in the comments below if you want to read more about them. Essentially, we're advocating for funding for communities post-mining, targeting land use and skills transition programs. We're also pushing for a stronger local presence for net-zero initiatives and regional planning agencies, so they can better understand what this really means for our communities. Additionally, we’re focusing on ongoing disaster resilience funding. We’ve experienced a lot of disasters this year, so it’s crucial to ensure those funds are available to help us recover and move forward. Most importantly, we discussed securing better funding for regional roads, which, as we all know, is currently underfunded through the NSW Block Grants formula. An example from the meeting on Wednesday was that Dungog receives around $11,000 per kilometre for a regional road, while our neighbors in Maitland receive $36,000 per kilometre. We're maintaining the same roads but with fewer funds, so this needs to be addressed and given more attention to understand what it truly means. Our goal is to advocate for fairer, more equitable road funding.

On Wednesday, we also looked at the reclassifications of our roads. We know that we're the only local government area in NSW without a state road. So we're continuing to advocate stronger for fairer funding and maintenance of our regional roads. Right now, local councils are carrying too much of the burdens for roads that service the whole state. You know, we're a classic example of that. We've got two key pieces of state infrastructure here in Dungog at the back of our Shire. How do they get from one end to the other? Our roads! So we need a bit more support, a bit more love, from the from the state government for that.

Through the road recategorisation review, we've been calling for the NSW Government to take responsibility for some of these key regional routes. So we'll keep pushing for action. It's vital for our community's safety, connectivity, and sustainability.

Also, just on that recategorisation, we have been talking with the Roads Minister for NSW. She has been engaging in conversations, but at this point in time, we really want to know what this means for us? While we're grateful for those conversations, and they continue, we really want to see outcomes that benefit Dungog.

We also had a couple of motions come to Council on Wednesday night, looking at 24-hour camping in Dungog. We know that we need to do something about camping in our area, but we want to make sure it's done sensibly. That means looking at what we have, the available amenities, and how we can leverage them. We don't necessarily have to build something new, but let's look at what we already have and how we can utilise those. We've asked for a report to come back to Council on what that could look like, so we can make some sensible decisions from there.

We also looked at expanding options for temporary occupation while people are building a home. At the moment, you can do a shed and live in a shouse whilst you're waiting to build that dream home of yours. But we know there are other options out there for temporary living. So we are trying to make it easier for people because it's expensive.

We also endorsed a motion to explore ways to increase awareness about second dwellings in the Shire. There's been a lot of discussion recently with the Infrastructure and Housing Plan workshops. There have been many conversations around second dwellings on properties, so being aware of what that looks like, how you can do it, and what's needed.

And then finally, on Wednesday, we also voted in our new Deputy Mayor for the next 12 months. I was pleased to see that Councillor Ley also put his hand up, and it wasn't just me nominating this time. So congratulations, Councillor Ley. It's a wonderful opportunity. I know I've grown as a young leader working in that space, working closely with the Mayor, and stepping in when needed. And then the fun challenges of prioritisation and time management and making sure that I could be present at all things to support the Mayor, but more importantly, ensure that our community had a representative from Council. So congratulations Councillor Ley, enjoy the next 12 months, and I'm always here if you need a call.

So that's a wrap-up for this week. I'll let you get on with your Fridays. Thanks for tuning in. As I said, there'll be a few links in the comments below around the minutes from Wednesday night and those motions that we've put forward. Thanks, everyone.