Canterbury-Bankstown mayor joins fight against State Government cash grab

Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour has joined other councils calling on the NSW Government to abandon its plan to divert local government funds into State revenue.

The NSW Government is attempting to take up to half of local government “developer contributions” – the money councils levy developers to help pay for local infrastructure such as playgrounds, sports fields, libraries and parks.

“This is a blatant cash grab by the Government that will impact our community,” Mayor Asfour said.

“Under this radical plan, they want to rob us of vital infrastructure contributions and then funnel the funds into other areas.

“If this plan was approved today, it would cost us something like $72 million dollars over the next 10 years.

“These contributions are used to fund vital local infrastructure projects like parks, playgrounds, kerb and gutters, community halls and libraries.

“And what is the Government’s response to us, you can raise your rates!”

City of Canterbury Bankstown and 22 other councils have published an open letter in in metropolitan newspapers, including the Torch, to raise public awareness of the detrimental impact this levy change will have on their communities.

The councils argue developer levies should be spent where they are raised to ensure new development is accompanied by appropriate investment in the surrounding area.

If approved, local councils will only be able to levy local development for “essential infrastructure” and will be left with shortfalls in funding for playgrounds, open space, sports and community facilities unless they raise rates.

The open letter reads:

Dear Premier,

As you know, the NSW Government imposes housing targets onto local Councils to accommodate Sydney’s population growth.

And in turn, our communities rely on our Councils to deliver the essential facilities and infrastructure needed to support this growth and make people’s lives and local environments better.

This infrastructure includes everything from roads and footpaths, to sports fields, parks and netball courts, to playgrounds, pools and libraries.

We can only deliver these facilities because we are able to collect contributions from property developers to help fund them.

However, the changes now being planned by the NSW Government will divert a large proportion of these developer contributions away from Councils and into a Treasury-controlled fund, with no clear accountability or transparency of how it will be spent.

And the Government is proposing Councils raise rates to make up the revenue we are losing.

This breaks the nexus between where contributions are made and where they are spent. This threatens the ability of every Council to deliver much-needed new community facilities and transfers that burden onto our ratepayers.

Premier, you are forcing us to choose between cancelling projects and raising rates. And this is at a time of pandemic-induced financial hardship for many people in the state.

On behalf of our communities, we urge that you withdraw the changes currently before Parliament.

The other signatories are: Bayside, Blacktown City, Blue Mountains, Burwood, Campbelltown, City of Sydney, Cumberland, Hawkesbury, Hunter’s Hill, Inner West, Lane Cove, Liverpool, Mosman, North Sydney, Penrith, Randwick, Ryde, Strathfield, Sutherland Shire, Waverley, Willoughby and Woollahra.