Decision details

Moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Scully -

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         the Electoral Funding Bill 2018 was passed through both houses of the NSW Parliament on 24 May 2018;

(ii)        the Bill introduces a cap on campaign expenditure in local government, based on a formula that differs dramatically across NSW local government areas;

(iii)      this Bill was passed without consultation and opportunities for feedback from the local government sector; and

(iv)      the Special Minister of State committed to the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Matters reviewing the impact of the caps on different local government areas; and

(B)      the City of Sydney Council call on the NSW Government and the Parliament of NSW to:

(i)         immediately refer the Electoral Funding Bill 2018 to a NSW Joint Parliamentary Inquiry to investigate opportunities for reform to increase fairness of caps across local government areas in NSW; and

(ii)        ensure that appropriate legislative changes identified by the review are in place at least 18 months prior to the next Local Government elections in September 2020.

Carried unanimously.

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