A trio of recent Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA) events in Sydney drew out the big guns of NSW politics and demonstrated the political influence of the organisation, according to the CMA Chairman and Temora Shire Mayor Rick Firman OAM.
“We work with all sides of politics towards the best possible outcomes for our communities. We are going from strength to strength, in terms of our influence because of a positive solutions focus. Every member contributes by coming together in Sydney, as representatives of their respective communities and as a rural, remote and region collective,” Mayor Firman said.
Mayor Firman announced last week that a meeting with Prime Minister the Hon Anthony Albanese is being scheduled. “I look forward to discussing Federal Financial Assistance Grants with the Prime Minister, alongside Local Government NSW President and CMA Board Member Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM and Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne.”
When NSW Premier, the Hon. Chris Minns MP addressed 160 CMA members in NSW Parliament House at their last quarterly General Meeting for 2025, he began by commending the CMA and its’ Chairman, particularly for the advocacy that led to the establishment of the new Premier’s Remote, Rural and Regional Advisory Council (PRRRAC).
The Premier agreed to an extra meeting of PRRRAC, in a rural or regional community, meaning a total of three meetings per year, in which Advisory Council members will be able to communicate directly with the Premier about rural, remote and regional issues. The PRRRAC will run for an initial two years, then be reviewed.
“Country Councils are like the canaries in the coal mine, whether the issue be crime or water,” he said.
“We support your call for the Federal Financial Assistance Grants to Local Government to be returned to 1% of national tax revenue. The fact is that the NSW share of the Federal tax dollar has to go up.”
Premier Minns answered a broad range of questions from CMA members for half an hour, ranging from major renewable energy project impacts, disaster recovery funding delays, national parks expansions, Councillors’ remuneration and lack of entitlements like sick or maternity leave, plus the housing crisis and the capacity limitations in country NSW. He finished with good news on the crime fighting front. “After a successful recruitment campaign, we have seen a 70% increase in applications to the Policy Academy,” he announced.
Recent NSW Government planning reforms are a top concern of CMA Members, with elected Councils now having no involvement in decision making processes relating to Development Applications. “It was encouraging to hear the Premier say ‘Local Planning Panels should have local involvement’ and we are appealing for an amendment to the legislation to enable Councillors to serve on these panels which will determine larger or outside of the box DA’s. Especially in rural and remote Local Government Areas, Councillors are ideal candidates for these panels,” Mayor Firman said.
The CMA meeting also heard from now former NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman MP, the new State Nationals Leader Gurmesh Singh MP and Federal Shadow Local Government Minister Dr. Anne Webster MP, as well as Country Education Foundation of Australia (CEF) Chief Executive Officer, Ms Wendy Mason.
A separate CMA event saw members taken through the results of their annual survey and a groundbreaking rural health access survey, conducted in partnership with the Rural Doctors Network. Deputy Secretary of the Office of Local Government Brett Whitworth PSM addressed that workshop and addressed questions, which were diverse and included the recently legislated new Code of Meeting Practice for NSW Councils.
In another special event, Her Excellency the Hon Margaret Beazley AC QC hosted a reception for the 140 CMA members and guests at Government House. Her Excellency’s address to the gathered Mayors, General Managers, CEOs and Government Ministers described the challenging tasks of country Councils and their importance. The Head of State for NSW also reflected on how much she enjoys her regional visits.
“We were so grateful to Her Excellency for such a memorable occasion. Country Mayors do so much for relatively little in return (financially) and to see that acknowledged and celebrated at Government House was truly appreciated, as was the opportunity for our members to connect with each other in one of the most historic, picturesque settings in Australia,” Mayor Firman said.