13 February 2025
North Sydney Council has knocked back a recission motion seeking to re-open discussions on its plan to apply to the state government for an 87% rate rise: on the grounds that it already sent in the application three days early.
As has been reported, Council voted 7-3 on Monday night to apply to the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal for the massive rate rise, despite strong opposition from the public gallery on the night and a consultation process where just 5% of respondents supported the proposal.
The three dissenting councillors – Jessica Keen, Efi Carr and James Spenceley – lodged a recission motion on Wednesday lunchtime, which would have required an emergency meeting to re-open debate on the matter given an imminent IPART deadline. Many members of the public were effectively turned away from Monday’s meeting due to the council chambers’ inability to hold a group of more than 200.
The procedures around the motion would have allowed the Council to hold the meeting within a day or two and still meet the Friday 5pm deadline for Council to make its application to IPART.
But Council staff beat the councillors to it, evidently lodging the application on Tuesday or Wednesday morning, some two to three days earlier than required. The recission motion was thus rejected on the grounds that the original motion had already been actioned.
Cr Keen told the Sun “I am obviously deeply disappointed for the community. The rate rise proposal is not popular and a second consideration would have shown respect for ratepayers.”
The motion called for a comprehensive review of the reasons for the rate hike, asked for a clear articulation of what the increased revenue would be spent on and sought an evaluation of alternative revenue measures such as asset sales, sponsorships, grants and loans.
It specifically asked Council to “acknowledge the existence and validity of rate payers opposition to the proposed rate rise.”
And, according to Keen, the recission motion acknowledged the validity of the need to fund the North Sydney Olympic Pool development – which is now costing $122m, up from $58m – by endorsing a 20% rate rise. This in keeping with estimates that only between a tenth and a quarter of the 87% proposed rate hike – which will add around $550 million in revenues over ten years – would be needed for the pool or other essential purposes.
The seven councillors who supported the rate rise on Monday – Real Independents Zoe Baker, MaryAnn Beregi, Nicole Antonini, Chris Holding, Labor’s Godfrey Santer and Shannon Welch and Green Angus Hoy – collectively endorsed the claims of the council executive that finances were in a crisis and that the hike was necessary due to the relatively low rates paid in North Sydney compared to neighbouring councils. The sentiment was summed by Cr Holding with the comment “Do North Sydney councilors really want to present themselves as the entitled Karens of Australia?” – a riposte to arguments that the rate rises were onerous and unaffordable.
Baker also said on Monday that she believed opposition to the rate rise was orchestrated by the Liberal Party to help its chances at the coming federal election.