Moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Miller –
It is resolved that:
(A)
Council note:
(i)
that dangerous climate change has left Australia
in the worst drought in over 400 years, with 99 per cent of NSW currently in drought;
(ii)
the drought crisis is having devastating effects
on regional and rural communities in NSW, and many local councils in these
areas require additional help and support as a result; and
(iii)
that all Councillors
are encouraged to promote tourism to regional and rural areas to help the
economies of drought-affected local councils via their e-newsletters.
(B)
the Chief Executive
Officer be requested to investigate strategies for the City of Sydney to
support drought-affected local councils in NSW, and provide a report via the
CEO Update.
Variation. At the request of Councillor Miller, and by
consent, the motion was varied, such that it read as follows:
It is resolved that:
(A) Council note:
(i) that dangerous climate change has left Australia in the worst drought in over 400 years, with 100 per cent of NSW currently in drought;
(ii) the drought crisis is having devastating effects on regional and rural communities in NSW, and many local councils in these areas require additional help and support as a result;
(iii) that climate change and land clearing have been shown to intensify the severity of droughts;
(iv) that land clearing in NSW has risen 800% over three years in NSW, and that this is expected to worsen with the replacement of the Native Vegetation Act introduction with the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2017;
(v) that the NSW Government continues to approve the expansion of coal mines in the State, including the expansion of the Dendrobium coal mine which is already having significant negative impacts on Sydney’s water catchment;
(vi) that the City of Sydney is striving for long term solutions by leading on the issue of climate change, having reduced emissions in its own operations by 25 per cent since 2006, and that emissions from the local government area have reduced by 20 per cent since 2006;
(vii) that the City has shown leadership across the metropolitan area on resilience and on creating strategies for a water sensitive Sydney; and
(viii) that all Councillors are encouraged to promote tourism to regional and rural areas to help the economies of drought-affected local councils via their e-newsletters;
(B) the City of Sydney:
(i) donate $50,000 to the Country Women’s Association of NSW Drought Aid appeal, sourced from the General Contingency;
(ii) use its on-line communication channels to encourage additional support for the Fund from City communities; and
(iii) establish a program to match staff contributions to the Fund until 30 October 2018 on a dollar-for-dollar basis; and
(C) the Chief Executive Officer be requested to investigate strategies for the City of Sydney to support drought-affected local councils in NSW, and provide a report via the CEO Update.
Variation. At the request of Councillor Forster, and by consent, the motion was varied, such that it read as follows:
It is resolved that:
(A) Council note:
(i) that dangerous climate change has left Australia in the worst drought in over 400 years, with 100 per cent of NSW currently in drought;
(ii) the drought crisis is having devastating effects on regional and rural communities in NSW, and many local councils in these areas require additional help and support as a result;
(iii) that climate change and land clearing have been shown to intensify the severity of droughts;
(iv) that land clearing in NSW has risen 800% over three years in NSW, and that this is expected to worsen with the replacement of the Native Vegetation Act introduction with the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2017;
(v) that the NSW Government continues to approve the expansion of coal mine in the State, including the expansion of the Dendrobium coal mine which is already having significant negative impacts on Sydney’s water catchment;
(vi) that the City of Sydney is striving for long term solutions by leading on the issue of climate change, having reduced emissions in its own operations by 25 per cent since 2006, and that emissions from the local government area have reduced by 20 per cent since 2006;
(vii) that the City has shown leadership across the metropolitan area on resilience and on creating strategies for a water sensitive Sydney; and
(viii) that all Councillors are encouraged to promote tourism to regional and rural areas to help the economies of drought-affected local councils via their e-newsletters;
(B) the City of Sydney:
(i) donate $200,000 to NSW Drought Aid, with the Chief Executive Officer to confirm the most effective distribution of funds between the Country Women’s Association of NSW Drought Aid appeal and the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Appeal, sourced from the 2018/19 General Contingency;
(ii) use its on-line communication channels to encourage additional support for the Fund from City communities; and
(iii) establish a program to match staff contributions to the Fund until 31 December 2018 on a dollar-for-dollar basis; and
(C) the Chief Executive Officer be requested to investigate strategies for the City of Sydney to support drought-affected local councils in NSW, and provide a report via the CEO Update.
The motion, as varied by consent, was carried unanimously.
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