No second chance for discontinued Town Centre Master Plan sub-Committee after rescission motion lost

A rescission motion went before an extraordinary meeting of Port Macquarie-Hastings Council on Monday [March 7] in an attempt to reinstate the Town Centre Masterplan sub-Committee, pending a review. The rescission motion failed to get across the line in a four to five vote.

It followed a decision at the February council meeting to scrap nine council committees, working parties and groups, and form seven committees and amend their charters to reflect membership changes, pending a review of the council's committee structure.

The council, after a separate item at the February meeting, will undertake a review before making a decision on whether to remove the Town Centre Master Plan (TCMP) business rate levy.

Cr Lisa Intemann said the council would be reviewing the Town Centre Master Plan sub-Committee, but in the meantime, there were several projects on the books which the members could continue their vital role on in terms of providing advice to the council.

She spoke of the "enormous amount of expertise" of the sub-committee members.

Cr Intemann said it would be remiss to abandon their assistance and advice for the next few months at least.

Cr Nik Lipovac said the continuation of the sub-committee, pending the review, would be a very small compromise but would mean a great deal to those in our community who understood and appreciated the significant and successful work of the TCMP sub-Committee.

He spoke about the sub-committee's history and questioned why the council would terminate such a successful, longstanding group.

Cr Sharon Griffiths stood by the decision to discontinue the sub-committee, saying community feedback led to action.

Mayor Peta Pinson spoke against the rescission motion.

She said there was an inequity for business ratepayers that had been through some pretty horrendous times over the past three years.

"If you are unfortunate enough to fall in this magic square [Town Centre Master Plan], you get to pay a lot more than the people who sit just on the other side of it, yet you get all the benefits of a CBD being renovated," Cr Pinson said.

Deputy mayor Adam Roberts put forward a successful motion, which was carried five votes to four.

The council noted a petition provided to and received by the mayor about the TCMP, in part acknowledging the inequity of the rating model, hardship experienced by businesses over recent years due to natural disasters and the pandemic.

Pending the outcome of the TCMP review, the council will extensively consult with the business community across the local government area about a new model of business rating.

The council, as part of the consultation, will develop an economic recovery strategy, in conjunction with the broader business community, to assist businesses and employment across the area.

Cr Roberts said there would be potentially some things to come out of the review that the council may want to pick up or roll into a new process or program.

He spoke about starting to plan now for community consultation.

"Let's do something really interesting here, and develop in conjunction with the broader community and the business community, an economic recovery strategy to deal with some of the issues raised already through this process to assist businesses and also employment across the LGA," Cr Roberts said.

Cr Danielle Maltman said she was looking forward to a better rating system and the review.

Cr Rachel Sheppard put forward an amendment but the amendment was lost.

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