As she does every year, intrepid Coast Community News journalist Merilyn Vale braved the Canberra cold to cover the Australian Local Government Association’s National General Assembly, held from June 24-27.
But the main event, where councillors from all over the country debate their list of Motions, was closed to journalists for the first time, preventing the media from hearing the big-ticket discussions at the annual conference.
More than 1,300 delegates attended the assembly – the largest gathering in the ALGA’s 31 years of holding the assembly.
Central Coast Councillors Rachel Stanton, Trent McWaide, Kyle MacGregor, Sharon Walsh, Belinda Neal and Mayor Lawrie McKinna attended, along with CEO David Farmer.
Governor General Sam Mostyn again opened the conference; last year it was one of her first public duties having been sworn in less than 48 hours earlier.
She said she wanted to learn from delegates about how they engaged in democracy and how to “re-engage all citizens in local civics”.
Minister for Local Government, Regional Development and Emergency Management Kristy McBain addressed the conference and spoke about waiting on the final report of the Federal Government’s standing committee into local government sustainability.
Earlier the President of ALGA Matt Burnet said the committee must recommend increases in funding, including assistance with enabling infrastructure to support more housing, roads, and future-proofing against natural disasters.
But it was on the day when councillors were to present their Motions on June 25 that Vale was refused entry.
Despite the attempts of Central Coast Councillor Belinda Neal to intercede, the restriction held firm, denying media from covering perhaps the most informative session of the entire assembly.
“It was the main reason I came down to Canberra and was the source of most of my stories from last year’s event,” Vale said.
“This year the media was banned from that part of the assembly; apparently so delegates can talk freely.
“But my argument is that there’s not much point in the media being there if we can’t hear the arguments and see how the voting went.
“Many of these Motions were asking for Federal Government assistance.
“The ALGA should be doing everything in its power to attract national media to cover these debates, not close them down,” Vale said.
In all, 192 Motions were up for debate and Vale missed all of them.
Central Coast Council’s only Motion asked the assembly to call on the Australian Government to remove the double taxation on home insurance policies by working with the states to remove stamp duty or GST to make policies more affordable and equitable.
Equally disturbing was the fact that Vale was the only journalist wanting access.
“This highlights the sorry state of journalism and the low profile of local government; and it shouldn’t be that way,” she said.
Managing Editor of CCN David Abrahams said,
“This meeting is not a one off, it’s part of a worrying trend of locking out the public and media from decisions that affect us all.
“These are clear communist tendencies, something I’m sure the delegates would be uncomfortable with being part of.
“We must all keep fighting for transparency.
Meanwhile, there were some happy faces in attendance, including father and daughter duo Dean McCudden and Leah McCudden from the Central Coast.
They were manning a booth in the exhibition hall, flying the banner for the award-winning business run on the Coast by three generations of McCuddens – Bannerconda.
To check out the 192 Motions go to www.conferenceco.com.au/NGA25_Business_Papers.pdf
As for the outcome of the Motions – guess we’ll have to wait and see.
What an odd choice of motion by the Council, one would hardly imagine that double taxation on insurance premiums is terribly high up the list of local challenges that require Federal intervention. If Council is so concerned about the cost of living, surely representations that would materially drive down the cost of housing would make more sense rather than tinkering at the edges?