A message from the Mayor: Bringing wider learnings back to our Shire

Published on 31 October 2022

Last week all nine Kempsey Shire Councillors and the General Manager attended the annual Local Government NSW conference.

The conference was held over three days and was very informative and engaging. I thank all my colleagues for being there. There were many highlights and learnings pertinent to our Kempsey Shire community.

On the first day most Councillors participated in one of four workshops. Along with Councillor Ferguson, I learned about the biosecurity risks in our area. The other workshops attended were “Creating smart places”, “Building a new resilient local government sector” and “Creating welcoming, vibrant, safe and inclusive communities”.

Later a report on the NSW flood inquiry was presented by Professor Mary O’Kane and Mick Fuller. They summarised the 700-page report and outlined their 23 findings and 28 recommendations. Of these 28, five are particularly focused on what local governments, like Kempsey Council, should be doing. They suggested a need for a better emergency app. They also found that there should be better mental health education for people in affected areas.

John Brogden AM, Lifeline International President, spoke to the delegates about his organisation’s work with people across Australia. He noted that their caller rate before the bushfires was around 2400 calls a day. Now that is averaging 3900 a day. Mr Brogden informed us that number one reason for people to call was loneliness. It is a powerful message we should all remember in our community.

During the conference there were 153 motions to be considered. 146 were approved and became LGNSW policy and a focus for advocacy to the State and Federal Governments. Two of our motions were unanimously adopted.

On the last day demographer Simon Kuestenmacher gave an address titled “Reimagining our Future Workforce”. He outlined how work, and workers, will change during the next 10 years. It was a powerful look into the future of employment issues all councils will have to consider and the possible shortage of skilled workers that will have to be planned for so that council services will not be affected.

We can all look forward to the impact of this conference in improved local action and better policy and funding from State and Federal Governments.