‘Incompetent’ state government to cost Campbelltown ratepayers $.5m

The NSW government has been accused of being incompetent over a $500,000 byelection bill for Campbelltown residents.

The death of Councillor Fred Borg in December last year has caused a vacancy on the council.

Changes to the Local Government Act allow for casual vacancies in councils to be filled by a “countback” rather than a by-election.

However, to make the countback system effective the NSW government had to put together some regulations to set out how the countback would work.

Despite having more than two years to do this simple task, the Coalition hasn’t been able to produce the regulations, say the Greens.

Which has left Campbelltown ratepayers to foot a $500,000 bill for a byelection on March 18.

The Greens, including Campbelltown councillor Ben Moroney, are not amused.

“When you are working hard at a local level to look after our residents it makes you really mad to see council have to waste half a million dollars on a by-election because of a failure by the state government,’’ he said today.

“This is $500,000 that we can’t spend on services for the homeless, on meals on wheels or improved footpaths.

“A countback would take a couple of days and cost a fraction of a by-election, especially in a large council like Campbelltown with more than 150,000 residents.

“It’s not just the money, it’s the fact that a by-election won’t reflect the overall voting pattern of Campbelltown residents,’’ Cr Moroney said.

“It will very likely replace a much loved independent with just another major party councillor.

[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“When I explain to residents the mess caused by the state government they have one simple demand, they want it fixed and fixed right away,” Cr Moroney said.[/social_quote]

Greens MP and local government spokesperson David Shoebridge said: “The Coalition government has been so set on destroying local councils that they haven’t found time to get the basics right.

“How can anyone believe the Coalition wants to save residents money with its forced amalgamations when its own incompetence is forcing Campbelltown residents to spend $500,000 on an unnecessary by-election?’’