Subject desk
Water, waste, land and the places councils look after.
32 articles
Bega Valley councillors voted 6-2 to ask Minister Tara Moriarty to review the $6,355-per-share payment and consider delaying the Central Zone closure scheduled for 1 July 2027.
Underground stormwater drains across the municipality will be cleaned and assessed from 1 October, with extensions available through September 2031.
The draft strategy will be exhibited for at least 28 days, with councillors requiring comparisons with the former 22% by 2040 target and NSW’s 40% benchmark.
Environment Protection Authority groundwater results and further details about detections at monitoring sites 5, 16 and 17 will be provided during continuing catchment monitoring.
The Central Coast Local Planning Panel rejected amended plans for 1 Yumbool Close after finding the design too visually dominant, too close to a side boundary and likely to create rooftop-terrace noise.
The Central Coast Local Planning Panel rejected DA/434/2026 at 23-35 Albert Warner Drive, citing vegetation-retention conditions, biodiversity requirements and RE1 zoning conflicts.
Functional panels removed from the Waste Water Management Plant project are to be stored for possible discounted community sale, with the rest sent to a commercial recycling facility.
Central Coast councillors want a 2026 moratorium on shark nets and have urged the State Government to halt the planned 1 September installation at Terrigal Beach.
Orange Anglican Grammar School can remove a mature Southern Blue Gum from a children’s play area because of safety concerns, but must plant six trees on its grounds and make the treated timber free to the community.
Wanneroo Council voted 13-0 to advertise a draft foreshore plan, with the final location of facilities in Public Open Space E to be settled through surf club design and community engagement.
The council will lobby the Victorian Opposition to preserve local control of waste services and oppose rate-capping municipal waste charges.
The “Make Big Polluters Pay Their Fair Share” petition seeks a federal Climate Compensation Fund, but Council has referred it for investigation rather than backed the proposal.
The study was endorsed seven votes to one for Council adoption. Any proposed changes to development controls would require a separate consultation process.
The plan cleared the advisory committee seven votes to one for Council consideration, while any future changes to development controls must undergo separate consultation and reporting.
Vincent has carried $93,953 into FY2026/27 after a proposed Beatty Park project did not proceed, following about $55,000 in LED upgrades at its library and two underground car parks.
Toowoomba Regional Council says the regional waste levy zone transition is saving the community approximately $3 million a year, while its draft waste strategy remains under review.
Minor changes will be noted before Central Coast Council considers adopting the review, which informs flood planning and development assessment across the catchment.
A second exhibition has been recommended for the draft Flood Policy, giving residents and landowners another chance to comment before Central Coast Council considers adoption.
A pathway linking Anne Findlay Place with Bateau Bay Square will be considered through Central Coast Council’s draft Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Strategy after a seven-seven vote was resolved by the mayor’s casting vote.
Eight suppliers were approved for three-year agreements covering stationery, furniture and janitorial products, with two optional one-year extensions and a 100 per cent recycled-paper requirement in specified categories.
Residents affected by flood risk around Cecil Street and Trumper Park can review Woollahra Council’s draft concept design before a further report is prepared.
Glenlee at 80 Boronia Parade, Lugarno, will be submitted to NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service for assessment, but no acquisition has been approved.
A 7-0 vote backs a WALGA submission seeking a federal inquiry, fossil-fuel levies and a national fund for councils facing climate-related costs.
Waste disposal fees ran $2.6 million above budget as Toowoomba Regional Council sought state help to assess business waste and reduce landfill use.
The City of Vincent has outlined indicative costs of about $50,000 for a minor H5N1 wildlife event and up to $250,000 for a major outbreak, including carcass disposal, inspections, staffing and public messaging.
Eligible developers can seek earlier lot titles, but essential services must be accepted first and deferred minor works require 150 per cent security. An As Constructed bond starts at $20,000.
The 5 June record was adopted unanimously, while funding for the annual desexing program remains unchanged and nine Council EV charging points continue to operate on a user-pays basis.
Scenic Rim Regional Council has adopted its 2026-27 waste management utility charges and, by 4-3, designated all premises in the region as areas where general waste collection may be provided.
No interim works are planned and a grant application cannot proceed until Council secures a co-contribution, with the Broughton Creek project to be reconsidered in the next funding cycle.
Randwick City Council has accepted its 22% canopy target by 2040 was not feasible and replaced it with a 19% city-wide target by 2060.
Toowoomba Regional Council has adopted water utility charges built around an annual infrastructure charge, consumption-based tiers and backflow fees for land within the water area.
Ipswich City Council has adopted a $553 household waste service charge and a $110.80 non-household waste levy for 2026-27 at its extraordinary budget meeting on 30 June.
