Decision details

Moved by Councillor Scully, seconded by the Chair (the Lord Mayor) –

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         the importance of ensuring Council makes every effort to support local businesses in a time of recession and economic lockdown;

(ii)        one of the goals identified in the City’s Covid-19 Recovery Plan is to “support a resilient economy and community wealth building … by encouraging recovery actions to be developed in partnership between government, business and communities … supporting local procurement, promoting local businesses and working together with our communities to catalyse the changes needed to build a stronger future”;

(iii)      at the Council meeting of 8 April 2019, Council endorsed a motion requesting the Chief Executive Officer “to investigate the possibility of developing a local preference policy for the City of Sydney”;

(iv)      only 12 per cent of small-to-medium enterprises in the City are registered on Tenderlink, the online tender advertising platform used by the City, and that increasing this figure would help the City source more of its requirements from local businesses;

(v)       fifty-five to 65 per cent of the City’s procurement already runs through businesses registered in the City of Sydney Local Government Area, and staff are actively considering actions we can implement to increase this;

(vi)      the rapid growth of the Community Wealth Building (CWB) movement in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe, which aims to establish fairer, more inclusive economic principles using the strengths and skills of local government as ‘anchor institutions’ using their resources, spend and influence to create a fairer society, serve as employment multipliers, and build more self-sufficient and thriving local communities;

(vii)     the success of Community Wealth Building initiatives around the world ‒ including the Preston Model, Spain’s Mondragon Corporation, and the work of the Democracy Collaborative in Cleveland, Ohio ‒ in supporting local economies to be more resilient in the face of crises, nurturing diverse models of enterprises which deliver secure and fair conditions for workers and partners, and enabling socially, financially and environmentally sustainable outcomes;

(viii)    the increasing uptake of Community Wealth Building-related programs across Australia, from earlier projects such as Renew Newcastle, to the City of Gold Coast’s ‘buy local’ procurement policy and the GROW program in regional Victoria;

(ix)      the challenges experienced by community and creative organisations in particular in retaining secure and affordable space, exacerbated by the impacts of the pandemic and lockdown;

(x)       in 2018, the Mayor of London established the Creative Land Trust, which supports the community and industry in the acquisition or long term lease of creative workspace in order to provide a network of sustainable, permanent spaces that will remain affordable for artists and creative producers in perpetuity. The success of international programs like London’s Creative Land Trust could serve as a model for ensuring greater resilience for important social and cultural infrastructure in our City;

(xi)      the first principle proposed by the City’s Citizens’ Jury in its Sydney 2050 concepts report was that of participatory governance, consistent with the principles of Community Wealth Building; and

(xii)     the Community Recovery Plan endorsed by Council on 29 June 2020 sets out four Recovery Goals, including support for a “resilient economy and community wealth building”. The Plan states that “as part of our work to build capacity in groups and organisations, we will support local procurement, promote local businesses and work together with our communities to catalyse the changes needed to build a stronger future”; and

(B)      the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:

(i)         investigate developing a City policy integrating the principles of Community Wealth Building into City operations to make the City of Sydney an ‘anchor institution’ for building and retaining wealth in our area, including through procurement, the use of City land and assets, and increased support for diverse models of ownership and operation that empower communities and share economic benefit more broadly;

(ii)        investigate how the City might develop and enter into Memorandum of Understanding with major partner organisations ‒ such as universities, hospitals, airports, and the members of the Camperdown Ultimo Innovation Precinct, and to raise it with some of our important networks such as the Better Building Partnership and Sustainable Destination Partnership ‒ to build a network of anchor institutions which increase local and socially responsible procurement across the City;

(iii)      investigate creative land trust models and how they might be applied in our local context; 

(iv)      investigate embedding the principles of Community Wealth Building into the City’s Sustainable Sydney 2050 plan, in line with the goals of the City’s Covid-19 Recovery Plan and the recommendations of the Citizens’ Jury; and

(v)       report back to Councillors via the CEO Update on the outcomes of these investigations.

The motion, as varied by consent, was carried unanimously.

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