Council Meeting Update - February 2025

Published on 21 February 2025

The draft 2025/2035 Community Strategic Plan has been placed on public exhibition for at least 28 days, following endorsement by Council at its Ordinary Council Meeting for February.

The Community Strategic Plan (CSP) is the highest-level plan a council will prepare. It identifies the community’s main priorities and aspirations for the future and guides all remaining strategies and plans.

The development of the draft 2025/2035 CSP follows extensive community engagement, including surveys, community drop-in sessions and meetings across Narrabri Shire as well as workshops with specific stakeholders.

Further community engagement will be undertaken to seek community feedback to the draft CSP during the public exhibition period, including via community workshops and meetings. Residents will also be able to provide comment to the draft CSP via email and post.

Other outcomes from the February Ordinary Council Meeting included:

Draft Narrabri Airport Master Plan

Council endorsed the Draft Narrabri Airport Master Plan 2025 to be placed on public exhibition for 28 days.

The master plan provides a framework for the future development of Narrabri Airport to cater for future growth over the years to come. It identifies three development stages – short-term (0 to five years); medium-term (five to 20 years) and long-term development (20-plus years).

Potential areas for development highlighted within the draft master plan include:

aircraft movement areas (hangars, helicopter facilities, ground lighting)
aviation support facilities (fuel)
passenger facilities (terminal building and car parking)
commercial land use development
ground transport

The draft master plan serves as a starting point for the Narrabri Airport facility. Aspects of the document are flexible and will evolve as required – including on the back of feedback received during the public exhibition period.

The community is encouraged to read through the draft master plan, consider what will be required for Narrabri Shire’s future airport needs and provide their feedback.

Submission – Reforms to Council Meeting Practices

Council endorsed and adopted a draft submission in relation to consultation regarding the draft new Model Code of Meeting Practice for Local Councils in NSW.

While Narrabri Shire Council supports many of the proposed changes represented in the draft Model Code of Meeting Practice, Council is concerned about several proposed changes to the Model Code, specifically:

Removal of protections for Staff and Councillors from unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct being aired and prosecuted in Council meetings.
Adoption of behavioural norms from the NSW Legislative Assembly that are incompatible with NSW Local Government.
Prohibiting briefing sessions.
Removing the statement of ethical obligations from meetings.
Diminishing Council discretion to determine when Councillors can attend meetings by audio-visual links.
Diminishing the General Manager's advisory function and their legislated function to direct and manage staff.
Requiring people to stand when the Mayor enters or when addressing the meeting.

Australian Local Government Association 2025 National General Assembly

Council resolved to submit a number of motions to the Australian Local Government Association 2025 National General Assembly, calling on the Australian Government to:

Provide additional resources and support to local government, in consort with the Australian Federal Police, to proactively manage the increasing operational impacts and associated community risks associated with the burgeoning Sovereign Citizen movement and other fringe anti-government movements.
Develop a nationally accessible Companion Animals Register.
Create a non-competitive funding pool, as part of a broader compensation fund accessible by local government, to address the progressive remediation of PFAS-contaminated town drinking water supplies.
Urgently implement the National Established Weeds Priority (NEWP) framework to manage biosecurity (weeds) risks with an associated focus on updating the Australian Weeds Strategy 2017-2027 and Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity to focus on harmonisation of Biosecurity (Weeds) legislation across mainland States and Territories.
Provide additional support to local government to retain local airline services, with a specific focus on smaller rural/regional airlines.
Expedite the delivery of the nation-building Inland Rail project.
Harmonise disparate application and relevancy of accounting standards for Local Government to ensure the consistency of the measurement and management of depreciation and the approach to valuation of associated non-current assets.
Extend financial support for the delivery of health services and equipment in rural and remote communities using a place-based and cooperative approach with local government.
Develop a National Renewable Energy Information Portal to assist local government to prepare for and to assist in the planning and delivery of the 2050 Net Zero emissions target.
Regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in so far as it relates to the risk of proliferation of misinformation and disinformation.
Establish a National Royalties for Regions Framework to address current gaps and state-level inequities in the distribution of funding to mining-affected communities.
Further support local government in the delivery of local youth-allied programs designed in partnership with Community that assist in Closing the Gap.
Urgently review the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangement (DRFA) model with a focus on achieving greater transparency and equity of access to recovery funding along with an enhanced focus on betterment principles.

The Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly will take place in Canberra from 24 to 27 June 2025.

Quarterly Budget Review Statement

Council adopted the Quarterly Budget Review Statement for the period ending 31 December 2024.

During discussion around this item, it was noted that the budget deficit, after exclusion of capital income, is forecast to be $3 million. The majority of this deficit ($2.7 million) is due to depreciation of Council assets.

The Interim General Manager highlighted that in the corporate world, a company would applaud the news their asset base has risen from $823 million to $915 million - the majority being infrastructure, such as roads, water and sewer.

However, because Council must report on the value of its assets, while the asset base value has risen, so too has the asset depreciation related to the increased asset base, affecting the budget’s overall bottom line.

Asset depreciation and its effect on underlying budgets is an issue experienced by councils across NSW. This includes the requirement to treat roads as assets, impacting on the budgets of every local government.

Narrabri Shire has a road network of 2,343 kilometres which have no marketable value, are not transferable or saleable, but have a value on Council’s books of $293 million, and an annual depreciation expense of $6.1 million.

Quarterly and progress reports

Council adopted the Quarter 2 Operational and Service Plan Progress Report as well as the Delivery Program Six Monthly Progress Report.

Additionally, Council noted the Planning and Development report for Quarter 2.

The value of development applications determined in Quarter 2 2024/2025 was $24,605,772. The report also highlighted the following current projects:

Approval of a Development Application for construction of a grandstand at Dangar Park. The development will provide seating for 270 and includes wheelchair accessible ramp and four wheelchair seating areas.
Approval of a 10-Lot Residential Subdivision at 66 Goobar Street in Narrabri.
An increase in development applications for telecommunications facilities within the Shire, providing access to fast, affordable and reliable internet.

Council also noted a report regarding February community advocacy opportunities, including updates around:

Portfolio Committee No. 8 Customer Service - Inquiry into Pounds in NSW.
Community Justice Centres, including writing to the NSW Attorney General and the Minister for Local Government calling on the NSW Government to continue funding the full suite of services currently provided by Community Justice Centres in NSW; and conduct a review into Community Justice Centres.
Proposed changes to ticketless parking regulations.
Seek further clarity from the NSW Government around the relationship between the NSW Parliament Joint Select Committee on Protecting Water Utilities from Privatisation and the Western NSW Water Service Utilities Reform Program.
Inquiry into the Performance of the Regional Investment Activation Fund and the Regional Jobs Creation Fund.

Confidential report – Senior of the Year nominations

In a confidential report to Council, Councillors were invited to undertake a vote for the Narrabri Senior of the Year Award.

The award recipient will be announced at this year’s Seniors Festival luncheon in Narrabri on Wednesday, 12 March.

The luncheon, which Council is hosting in partnership with local organisations, will include entertainment from The Elvis and Roy Orbison Show.

The 2025 Seniors Festival runs from 3 to 16 March 2025. This year's theme is Time to Shine.

To view the full agenda and reports from the February Ordinary Council Meeting and watch the recording of the meeting, visit Council's website.