Today on the Local Government News Roundup:

• A council’s backdown on school crossing cost-shifting
• Geelong heads off a controversial supermarket development
• A class action settlement proposal over a council nominations debacle
• A backdown on grant distribution changes in NSW
• Brisbane Council to destroy two dogs involved in an alleged violent attack
• Growing concerns about online abuse towards council candidates in Tasmania
• and a WA councillor’s call for changes to defamation laws

Also today:

Penrith Mayor Todd Carney calls for more investment in Outer Western Sydney ahead of massive growth in the coming years.

Listen now wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government; with support from Symphony3 – simple, connected customer experiences; and Rath Engineering Development – smarter local government systems built from real on-the-ground experience.

In this episode:

Victoria

Southern Grampians Shire Council will keep funding its school crossing supervisors in 2027. It has rescinded a 2021 resolution to hand the service back to the Department of Transport and Planning.

Council expects a state subsidy of about forty-six thousand dollars next financial year, against operating costs above one hundred and thirty thousand dollars. That leaves a council contribution of about eighty-four thousand dollars, a gap it expects to widen. Council also says crossings upgraded with raised pedestrian crossings aren’t eligible for the subsidy.

Mayor Cr Dennis Heslin said council will keep advocating for more State Government support. The next review is in December twenty twenty-seven.

Greater Geelong Council has asked the Victorian Government to rezone a Point Lonsdale site owned by Coles, so it can only be used for tourism. The Geelong Advertiser reported the move follows community protests against a proposed supermarket on the Bellarine Highway site, and a petition with more than four thousand seven hundred signatures.

Mayor Cr Stretch Kontelj said the amendment delivers on the Point Lonsdale Structure Plan. If Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny authorises it, public exhibition would follow.

Australia’s first Vietnamese museum has opened in Sunshine, in Melbourne’s west. The Vietnamese Museum Australia was unveiled on Saturday, funded with nine point seven million dollars from the Australian Government, eight point six million from the Victorian Government and community fundraising.

Brimbank Council also opened Wominjeka Plaza, a public forecourt it designed and funded. Mayor Cr Virginia Tachos said about seventeen per cent of residents have Vietnamese heritage.

Supercars will return to Phillip Island in twenty twenty-seven, after the Victorian Government signed a multi-year contract. Bass Coast Mayor Cr Brett Tessari welcomed the announcement on Friday, saying it supports the region after MotoGP and World Superbikes were lost to South Australia.

Council says attention now turns to the final MotoGP on the island, after thirty years, next weekend.

Latrobe City Council has welcomed recent enforcement action against illegal tobacco and vape trading across the municipality. Tobacco Licensing Victoria and Victoria Police’s Viper Taskforce carried out the action, which follows new Victorian Government powers on illegal tobacco sales.

Latrobe Mayor Cr Sharon Gibson said businesses must operate within the law, and that council will keep advocating for resources to improve community safety.

Knox City Council has welcomed the Victorian Government’s twenty-seven point two million dollar statewide funding pledge for Maternal and Child Health, but says temporary funding alone will not secure the service. Mayor Cr Paige Kennett said the State funds about one hundred and forty-three dollars of each service hour, which costs councils about two hundred and eighty-seven dollars to deliver.

Knox is joining the Municipal Association of Victoria in calling for a restored fifty-fifty funding partnership.

Wellington Shire Council has called on Victoria Police to inspect West Sale Airport before a site is chosen for the planned Gippsland Police Academy. Mayor Cr Cindy Madeley, addressing Chief Commissioner Mike Bush, said almost three months after the announcement council has had no call, visit or request for information.

The site includes a former TAFE campus and about one hundred and ninety hectares of council land. Council is also asking Gippsland South candidates in the state election whether they support the site.

Frankston City Council has two projects shortlisted in the twenty twenty-six Waste Innovation and Recycling Awards: its kerbside food and garden organics rollout, and the Frankston Regional Recycling and Recovery Centre. The awards gala is on Thursday the twenty-ninth of October.

The VLGA’s new Coaching and Mentoring Program connects Councillors with experiencedcoaches and mentors, matched to your individual needs.

Whether you’re looking for guidance, perspective or support through a particular challenge,the VLGA can help.

Find out more about the new Coaching and Mentoring Program on the VLGA website.

New South Wales

The NSW Liberal Party has proposed terms to settle a class action over its failure to lodge council election nominations in twenty twenty-four. According to The Australian, the terms were announced in the Supreme Court on Friday, with no admission of liability.

About sixty of the one hundred and twenty former candidates are expected to receive payments of an undisclosed sum. The settlement is subject to court approval, with a final hearing on December the eleventh.

The NSW Local Government Grants Commission has dropped proposed changes to how Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants are distributed.

Kiama Mayor Cr Cameron McDonald welcomed the decision, but said the grants system still needs further examination to be more transparent and fairer.

Under the proposal, Kiama’s annual allocation would have fallen from two point five five eight million dollars to one point zero six two million.

Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown said she believed the strong advocacy from Wollongong City Council demonstrated to the Commission the level of concern within local government and the community about this proposed change.

An independent investigation for Kempsey Shire Council has formed the view that Cr Noel Selby posted a Facebook comment about domestic violence. According to the ABC, investigators found it breached the code of conduct on intimidation and harassment, and recommended formal censure.

Cr Selby maintains his account was hacked and that he did not post the comment. The report goes to council on Tuesday the twentieth of October, and a local domestic violence service has called on him to resign.

Yass Valley Council will consult residents on a possible special rate variation after a divided extraordinary meeting. Mayor Cr Jasmin Jones’s amended motion passed five votes to four, with three options going to the community over five to six weeks.

According to The Southern Wire, Mayor Jones said doing nothing is not an option. C-E-O Gayleen Burley told the meeting a performance improvement order would precede any administrator if council did not act.

Bega Valley Shire Council will consider a report at its October meeting proposing the sale of sixty-two properties with long-standing unpaid rates. The properties account for more than eight hundred thousand dollars, around forty per cent of council’s total rates debt.

Fifty are small parcels, many created through historic road realignments, where owners are deceased or cannot be located. Mayor Cr Russell Fitzpatrick said the process is a last resort, and any sale would go to public auction.

Singleton Council will meet in closed session on Tuesday on its seven point two million dollar pool enclosure contract. According to the Singleton Argus, the tender for the Gym and Swim pool dome went to Kingston Building after a September extraordinary meeting, drawing community concern about cost.

Council says an external investigator is reviewing the tendering process. Staff will separately report, for information only, on the contract’s termination provisions and any costs.

Upper Hunter Shire Council has taken a company to the Land and Environment Court over four nineteen-twenties railway carriages stored at Blandford. According to the Newcastle Herald, council alleges the storage is development that needed consent, and that none was granted.

The company’s director, Mr Chris Richards, is defending the case and says he plans a railway disaster museum. Council says no development application has been lodged. The case so far has been procedural.

Snowy Valleys Council is consulting residents on draft financial scenarios for the proposed Northern and Southern councils, as part of its de-amalgamation transition. Information sessions begin on Tuesday the twentieth of October, and the survey closes on Sunday the first of November.

Tweed Shire Council is seeking feedback on a draft policy for managing dead whales and other large marine animals on its beaches. According to the Byron Coast Times, each incident would be assessed individually, with towing offshore preferred when safe and practical. Submissions close at four pm on Wednesday the eleventh of November.

Georges River Council is inviting more residents to join its Humans of Georges River project, which collects local stories through portraits and interviews. Dozens have registered since May. The stories will join the Community History Collection and feature in a future exhibition.

City of Coffs Harbour voters will head to the polls for a by-election on Saturday 12 December following the resignation of Paul Amos. The City is encourageing all eligible residents to check and update their enrolment details with the NSW Electoral Commission now.

For decades, Western Sydney has been talked about as a single region. Seven councils now say that view is out of date.

The Outer Western Sydney Alliance, or O-W-S-A, brings together Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Penrith and Wollondilly. It is calling on the N-S-W Government to recognise Outer Western Sydney as a distinct region, and to invest accordingly.

Chair of the Alliance, and Mayor of Penrith Todd Carney joins me now.

Queensland

Brisbane City Council will issue destruction orders for two dogs that allegedly mauled a man in Chermside’s 7th Brigade Park on Friday night. According to the Brisbane Times, the thirty-seven-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries, and police said officers fired on the dogs during their initial response.

Council confirmed the dogs had not previously been declared dangerous. Their owner can surrender them for the order or appeal against it.

Economic Development Queensland has issued a show cause notice to City of Moreton Bay over a trial homeless campsite at Wyllie Park in Petrie, according to the Courier-Mail. The council voted in August to create the free campsite for twelve months.

E-D-Q has described the use as illegal, as the park is approved as green space within a priority development area. Council confirmed receiving correspondence but did not comment further.

Cairns Regional Council has voted nine to one to remove mayoral minutes from its meeting agendas. According to Cairns Local News, the move followed a 30 September meeting where Mayor Cr Amy Eden used a mayoral minute to push for free green waste.

Mayor Eden voted against and described the change as gagging her. Deputy Mayor Cr Brett Olds rejected that, saying councillors can still raise matters through standing orders.

Gympie Regional Council has defended its redrafted local laws, the first review in more than a decade. The changes include the first dedicated local law for Kybong Aerodrome in its sixty-year history.

A fourteen-week consultation drew one hundred and ninety-one submissions, some raising concerns about over-regulation. A council spokesperson told Gympie Today, there was no revenue-raising motive, and that enforcement would be a last resort.

Tasmania

Concerns are growing in Tasmania that online abuse is deterring women and young people from standing for council. According to The Examiner, Waratah-Wynyard mayoral candidate Chloe Foster said cyberbullying has made her family question what happens if she is elected.

West Tamar Cr Joy Allen called it the worst election she has seen.

University of Tasmania policy expert Professor David Adams said the personal cost excludes people from the democratic process.

Hobart City Council has spent almost four hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars on legal costs for elected member matters this term. According to The Mercury, that is about twenty per cent of council’s total legal spend of roughly two point four million dollars since November twenty twenty-two.

Elected members have lodged nineteen code of conduct complaints against colleagues over the term. The figures are due to be tabled at Monday night’s council meeting.

South Australia

The City of Adelaide has lodged eight objections with the Australian Government over the State Government’s planned ninety-six million dollar MotoGP street circuit, due in twenty twenty-seven. According to GPOne, council has challenged the environmental assessment and the level of consultation, and raised concerns about the Park Lands, including the removal of three hundred and seventy-seven trees.

It also warns of one hundred and eighty thousand dollars in lost parking revenue.

Gawler Council has released a draft structure plan for its town centre, preparing for more than fifty thousand people by twenty forty-six.

AdelaideNow reports the plan allows buildings of two to five storeys and proposes about two hundred medium-density homes and fifty serviced apartments, alongside upgraded roads, parking and community facilities.

The council’s Business and Economic Development Committee backed the draft unanimously. Traders welcomed investment but want the town’s heritage protected.

Western Australia

A City of Melville councillor wants Western Australia to change its defamation laws, saying elected members fear speaking out. According to WA Today, Cr Scott Green has put a notice of motion to Tuesday’s council meeting, seeking support for the W-A Local Government Association to advocate for reform, including a serious harm test he says every other jurisdiction has adopted.

Attorney-General Tony Buti said work on those reforms is under way. City officers advised that defamation law is a matter for the State.

Seven inner-city Perth councils will spend three years rolling out forty kilometre an hour speed limits on local roads, backed by about two million dollars in state and federal funding.

PerthNow reported that the Perth Inner-City Group project starts in Vincent and combines speed changes with community education and research.

Group research says a pedestrian or cyclist has a sixty per cent chance of surviving a crash at forty, against twenty per cent at fifty.

The City of Subiaco says it is not considering amalgamation. Mayor Cr David McMullen confirmed the position after Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley introduced the Local Government Amendment and Repeal Bill 2026 on October the fourteenth, which includes four-year election cycles and support for voluntary amalgamations.

Mayor McMullen told PerthNow that reports of an invitation from the Town of Claremont to discuss amalgamation were incorrect. He said reform and collaboration do not necessarily require merging.

The Shire of Manjimup has opened its Agenda Briefing Sessions to the public, following an update to Council Policy 1.1.1 at its September meeting. Residents are invited to attend.

The Shire of Dardanup has paid tribute to former Shire President Trevor Slater, who has died. Mr Slater led the shire in the late nineteen-eighties and early nineteen-nineties, a period of growth and development for the district.

He was a member of one of Eaton’s pioneering families.

The City of Albany is mourning the passing of former mayor and Honorary Freeman Dennis Wellington, who dedicated over twenty years to local government service.

Current mayor Greg Stocks paid tribute to Wellington, highlighting his leadership across key regional milestones, including the Anzac Centenary commemorations and the Albany Ring Road project.

Wellington served twelve years as mayor, cementing his legacy as the region’s longest serving municipal leader.

International

UK:

In England, the government has confirmed a Best Value inspection at the Tees Valley Combined Authority, citing ongoing concerns about financial sustainability, leadership and governance.

Laura Shoaf has been appointed lead inspector, with three assistants to follow. Inspectors will report to Ministers by March twenty twenty-seven.

The move follows a twenty twenty-four independent review, which made twenty-six recommendations, and a non-statutory Best Value Notice issued in April twenty twenty-five. Ministers say high debt levels remain a concern.

Five councillors have resigned from Whitby Town Council in North Yorkshire, leaving five of its nineteen seats vacant.

BBC news reported that two of the councillors were the subject of an independent investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct.

Two former Reform UK councillors on Sheffield City Council in England have formed their own group.

BBC News reported that Cr Mick Lee and Cr Robert Hanson were elected under the Reform banner on May the seventh, and have since left the party.

They have named it the New Chartist Reform Group. They say anti-social behaviour will be a priority, along with disability issues, as both are disabled.

A Reform UK councillor has resigned from two English councils after being filmed making offensive remarks about Asian homeowners. According to the BBC, Alan Feeney, who was deputy mayor of Solihull, has quit Solihull Council and Birmingham City Council, and has left the party.

The comments were captured in an ITV News undercover investigation, and he has apologised. Two other Solihull councillors filmed in the investigation have also resigned, with by-elections to follow.

A Reform UK councillor in Portsmouth has accused ITV of electoral interference after undercover reporters joined the party’s council election campaign. Cr George Madgwick, Reform’s Hampshire leader, said the reporters campaigned in March and April and may have affected the results.

ITV News denies the claim, saying the programme complied with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code and was in the public interest.

CANADA:

Montreal has announced new measures to improve safety and coexistence in its Metro system ahead of winter.

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said the city will invest six point four million dollars a year to add fifty-two special constables by the end of twenty twenty-seven, with twelve extra police officers assigned in the meantime.

The transit authority will spend three million dollars upgrading camera monitoring, and outreach squads for vulnerable people will grow from two to six, reports CBC News.

The Alberta Government has ordered the City of Edmonton to amend its land-use bylaw within three months, returning infill rules to those in place before twenty twenty-four, including minimum parking requirements.

According to CTV News, the ministry says projects already under way can continue, and developers can still apply under current rules until they change.

Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack called the order overreach and said the city has received nothing in writing.