Local news for local people
This week's Minute with Mayor McKibbin
July 30, 2026
Oberon
held its latest Ordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday 21 July 2026. A
notice of motion was considered concerning the Energy Legislation
Amendment (Prioritising Renewable Energy) Bill 2026 that is before
NSW parliament. The Bill allows the NSW Energy Minister to designate
transmission lines, renewable generation, storage, pumped Hydro, gas
for fast-response backup power or aggregated load reductions to
stabilise the electricity grid. The Minister has power to deter
minimum and Maximum developer contributions to Councils under
Voluntary Planning Agreements (VPAs). Oberon Council is concerned as
there is no opportunity for Councils to seek recompense for damage
to roads or for businesses to obtain compensation for significant
inconvenience during the construction phase which impacts those
businesses economically. No guidelines for decommissioning standards
to apply statewide are proposed nor is any fund to be established
for all renewable developers to contribute to in order that the
financial collapse of a developer/operator does not preclude the
decommissioning of a renewable project at the end of its life.
Oberon has been lobbying the Government on both these issues for
over 2 years. Each Council will also be affected in unique ways
which is not recognised by the Ministers overriding power in
relation to VPAs. It was resolved that Oberon Council write to the
Minister regarding its concerns.
A further resolution at the 21 July meeting concerned the Oberon Waste Facility and its ability to accept waste associated with renewable projects. The Federal battery rebate has caused residents to change their solar panels simultaneously with installing a battery however the State Government has not put in place a recycling path ahead for redundant solar panels despite urging from Councils. New renewable projects will create waste during the construction phase whether solar or wind. The amount and type of waste is not clear and Council’s waste facilities ability to accept that waste is unclear noting current waste cell capacity projections are based on current known and projected waste. Similarly at the end of life of these renewable projects the amount of waste and the extent that waste is recyclable is unknown. It was noted that councils in the New England region are already placing restrictions on accepting renewable project waste. Council resolved to create a policy in relation to renewable waste
The Australian Government is proposing major updates to the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) through a new Disaster Recovery Framework, featuring a 50/50 funding model, standardised assistance packages, and a Resilient Infrastructure Scheme. Regional councils have voiced strong opposition, worried that shifting to a 50/50 split places an unfair financial burden on state budgets and local councils. The new caps could substantially reduce total Federal Government recovery contributions during severe weather seasons.
The Minister for Local Government, Minister Hoenig, has introduced a revised draft Code of Conduct for Councillors which changes the Code to emphasise Councillors rights to unimpeded free speech and implied freedom of political communication under the constitution. The existing Code of Conduct includes a requirement that Councillors must not conduct themselves in a manner that "is likely to bring the council or other council officials into disrepute". This has been deleted from the new draft Code.
Importantly the new Code is issued under the premise that councils, councillors, council staff and members of the community will disagree with, dispute or may even be offended by comments made by councillors when engaging with the community. Unless the comment involves a clear breach of the provisions of the code of conduct (e.g. because it is personally disparaging, abusive or intimidating), the Code of Conduct is not the appropriate mechanism for addressing that comment. The Free Speech in Local Government Guideline issued in 2025 by the Department of Local Government stated that "in a healthy, functioning democracy, the appropriate way to respond to public comment that others disagree with is to engage with that comment by publicly rebutting, challenging, or disputing it as part of legitimate public debate on the issue, not by making a code of conduct complaint about it". The new draft of the Code of Conduct is set against this background and significantly limits the ambit for complaints to be made by members of the public about Councillors social media or other commentary on issues or Council decisions.
Andrew McKibbin
Mayor
