The New South Wales Government and the state’s largest local government representative body, Local Government NSW, have signed a new agreement which will guide relations between the two government bodies.

The Intergovernmental Agreement to Guide NSW State-Local Government Relations was signed earlier this week by Premier Barry O’Farrell, State Minister for Local Government Don Page and Presidents of LGNSW Keith Rhodes and Ray Donald.

"I am pleased today to be signing this Agreement on behalf of the NSW State Government with Local Government NSW – it’s a commitment to work together to achieve strong communities through partnerships," said Mr O’Farrell.

"The recent merger of the local government and shires associations creates a stronger voice for local government in NSW, and an organisation that is better able to meet the needs of councils and work in partnership with the State Government.

The Intergovernmental Agreement has a number of key features, including:

  • Agreed principles that will guide State−Local Government relations, and an articulation of roles and responsibilities
  • Provision for a biannual meeting with the Premier, the Minister for Local Government and Local Government NSW to discuss strategic initiatives that impact on both parties; and a biannual meeting with the Minister for Local Government and Local Government NSW will be held, to discuss the strategic issues facing local government
  • Provision for a biannual dialogue hosted by the Chief Executive of the Division of Local Government, to be held between Local Government NSW, the Local Government Managers Australia (NSW), and Agency Heads of key NSW State agencies with a strong and direct relationship with NSW councils, to discuss the management of emerging issues
  • A provision addressing cost−shifting.

The full agreement can be found here