Kyogle ratepayers are set to save up to $400,000 a year, after the state government agreed to permanently scrap a waste levy that Council has spent more than ten years arguing it should never have had to pay.
The NSW Government has granted Kyogle Council a permanent exemption from the state’s waste levy, removing the Kyogle local government area from the Regional Levy Area (RLA) for good.
Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin, who lobbied NSW Minister for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Heritage Penny Sharpe for the exemption, said the fight had always been about fairness.
“This was always about equity, Council’s advocacy brief made an argument that they should never have been included in the RLA, and I was able to get a temporary four-year exemption as a commitment at the 2023 State election,” Ms Saffin said.
“Neighbouring Tenterfield Shire sat just outside the RLA and Kyogle’s strong case for exemption seemed fair on a comparative basis.
“Under current regulations, Kyogle would have been re-included in the RLA and would have had to recommence paying the waste levy from 1 July 2027, so I made a renewed lobby to avoid this situation at all costs.”
Minister Sharpe wrote to Ms Saffin to confirm the decision.
“The Government is committed to a fair and consistent framework for waste operators and councils regarding the waste levy,” Minister Sharpe wrote.
“In considering your request, I have considered a range of matters including projected population growth, waste generation and disposal trends, and potential waste flows between levied and non-levied areas.”
Kyogle Mayor Danielle Mulholland said Council had long argued the levy was never designed with small rural councils like Kyogle in mind.
“We have consistently argued that Kyogle should never have been subject to the waste levy in the first place,” Mayor Mulholland said.
“A State Government report recommended that the levy only apply to councils generating more than 5,000 tonnes of general waste each year.
“Kyogle Council generates approximately 3,000 tonnes of general waste annually. We were well below that threshold, yet our community was still being asked to carry the cost. This was effectively an unfair tax on a small rural community that simply could not afford it.”
Mayor Mulholland said the removal of the levy was something Council had been lobbying for over a decade.
“To hear that we had been granted a temporary exemption gave us hope that perhaps we were getting some traction, but to receive the news that it has been permanently removed, it’s not only exciting but we finally feel heard,” Mayor Mulholland said.
“We would like to thank Janelle for her unwavering commitment to help us get this across the line and to Minister Sharpe for looking at the figures and recognising that our argument was valid. We are very grateful and pleased with this result.”
Mayor Mulholland said the decision meant Council could finally tick off one of its longest-running advocacy priorities.
“This is exactly what advocacy is about, identifying an issue that is unfair to our community, making the case, and continuing to push until we get a better outcome,” she said.
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