The Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA) has welcomed the decision by the NSW Local Government Minister, The Hon Ron Hoenig MP, and NSW Grants Commission Chairperson, Ms Linda Scott, to postpone proposed reforms to the Federal Financial Assistance (FA) Grants distribution methodology.

Released in late August the methodology aimed to distribute the FA Grants, the largest income received by most councils after rates using a new Balanced Budget approach.

“Virtually all our Members are in an almost daily battle with financial sustainability. The proposed Methodology provided much needed additional funding for many of our Members but also resulted in substantial cuts in funding for others. Some Members were understandably rejoiced by the increase in funding while others were bitterly disappointed and left wondering how they would make ends meet, “ CMA Chairman and Mayor of Temora, Cr Rick Firman said.

“The CMA appreciates that the Commission and the Minister for Local Government, the Hon Ron Hoenig MP have taken on-board our concerns about financial sustainability and the need to improve the allocation of FA Grant funds to rural, remote and regional councils by developing the new methodology. However, the sheer size of the disparity in funding under the Balanced Budget approach drove a need for the CMA to better understand its underlying assumptions and calculations,” Mayor Firman said.

The implementation of the methodology will now be deferred until after the next NSW Local Government elections (in 2028) to allow for further thorough investigations.

“The CMA is pleased that the decision to postpone the introduction of the new funding distribution methodology will allow time to better analyse and understand its underlying assumptions and calculations,” Mayor Firman said.

“We are deeply grateful to Minister Hoenig and Chairperson Linda Scott for demonstrating true leadership by hitting the pause button. This postponement shows they have genuinely heard our concerns about how these massive funding shifts would impact vulnerable regional communities.”

“The CMA looks forward to working productively alongside the NSW Grants Commission and Local Government NSW (LGNSW) during this extension period to collaboratively design a distribution model where no rural, remote, or regional council is left worse off,” he said.