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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