Mayor raises local issues with Prime Minister

Narrabri Shire mayor Ron Campbell had the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and bring Narrabri shire to the national spotlight at the Australian Council of Local Government conference, held for the first time in a decade, in Canberra last week.

Shire Council general manager Rob Williams accompanied the mayor to the Canberra meeting.

Cr Campbell attended a gala dinner in the Grand Hall of Parliament House on June 16 followed by a full conference day at Canberra’s National Convention Centre.

The conference gave almost 500 mayors and local council members from across Australia the chance to meet the Prime Minister as well as Commonwealth government ministers and discuss important local issues.

“As with a new government, a lot of the conference was to do with developing relationships, and for us, talking about Narrabri shire as much as possible,” said Cr Campbell.

“The overarching challenges that local councils face such as lack of housing, lack of staff, workers, health, youth crime and police issues were all prominent parts of the discussion.”

While highlighting Narrabri Shire was at the forefront of Cr Campbell’s discussions with Mr Albanese, his other primary consideration was inquiring about the progress of the Inland Rail project review.

The gala dinner at Parliament House and conference provided the mayor with such opportunities as the setting encouraged one-on-one talks with the Prime Minister, ministers, and the entire cabinet.

Cr Campbell caught up with Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King, who oversees the Inland Rail review on the conference day to catch up on it’s progress.

“The conference provided us with an important opportunity to inquire about the Inland Rail project and the progress of the current review,” said Cr Campbell.

“We asked both Mr Albanese and Minister King where it’s currently at and let them know that we are committed to the rail line.

“From a local perspective, a lot of that included talking about the consequences of the project not moving forward in and around the plans for Narrabri shire, especially for our Special Activation Precinct.”

The Inland Rail project was put under review earlier this year after the federal government accepted findings of the commissioned Kerry Schott report and undertook the process of addressing her 19 recommendations for getting the project back on track.

“Both Mr Albanese and Minister King informed us that while the audit is still ongoing, they are continuing parts of the project into Victoria but have paused the rest until the audit is completed but are still very committed to a positive outcome.”

The imminent concerns of climate change and achieving net zero emissions was also a significant theme across the forum, with Energy Minister Chris Bowen raising the realities of renewable energy transition, including plans for coal and gas.

“The minister stated that the transition process can’t happen overnight, and the damage of climate change is already here, and it is now our responsibility to mitigate the consequences,” Cr Campbell said.

The federal government also announced the new Community Energy Upgrades Fund that will spend an additional $100 million on energy upgrades to help bring down power costs and provide long term savings for community facilities.

The renewable energy fund will build on the $1.3 billion already committed by the government to help local councils pursue positive opportunities around community energy.

“Overall, the conference was very engaging, and we walked away from conversations with the Prime Minister and ministers around working with local councillors cooperatively,” said Cr Campbell. “The message was that the government was committed to partnering with councils and collaborating on ideas about how councils can assist the government.”