Port Macquarie Hastings council rate freeze decision criticised by state MP Leslie Williams

A bitter division in a Mid-North Coast council has escalated after the organisation decided to freeze rates – forced through with the mayor’s contentious casting vote and sparking calls for an emergency meeting.

Port Macquarie-Hastings councillors Adam Roberts Josh Slade and Mayor Peta Pinson, and (right) Port Macquarie state MP Leslie Williams.

A bitter division in Port Macquarie Hastings Council has escalated after the organisation decided to freeze rates – forced through with the mayor’s casting vote and sparking calls for an emergency meeting.

The rate freeze has prompted state Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams to speak up and condemn the move by so-called ‘Team Pinson’ councillors.

“Councillors Pinson, Roberts, Slade and Maltman need to explain to the community why they put their own political agenda ahead of the community,” Ms Williams said.

Mayor Peta Pinson has had a deciding vote since July last year following the resignation of a councillor Sharon Griffiths.

Her casting vote has come into play during a number of important decisions in recent times, including the abolition of the deputy mayor role.

Port Macquarie Mayor Peta Pinson was elected as an independent, but in the lead up to the state government elections announced she had joined the Nationals and would be running against sitting member and ex-Nationals Leslie Williams. Ms Williams retained the seat at the election.

During last Thursday’s monthly council meeting, Ms Pinson used the mayoral power to push through the freeze for the 2024/25 financial year.

The decision came despite a letter from Brett Whitworth, Deputy Secretary of the Office of Local Government, who advised against the move.

Mr Whitworth reminded councillors they were overseeing an organisation plunging into a net deficit of about $8 million from a reported 2023 surplus of $6.5 million.

Ms Pinson said she “appreciated the sentiment”, but she was “also very aware all councils in NSW are elected as a body politic”.

In addition to the freeze, the ‘Team Pinson’ move also included abolishing what Ms Pinson described as a “thirty-year-old and outdated” Town Centre Master Plan (TCMP) special rate component.

On Tuesday, councillors Rachel Sheppard, Nik Lipovac and Lauren Edwards lodged a notice of rescission to overturn the freeze.

Port Macquarie Hasting councillor Rachel Sheppard is one of the councillors pushing to have the rate freeze overturned.

They hope to ditch the freeze, adopt the full 4.6 per cent rate peg and see the town centre special rate component retained.

Ms Sheppard said: “This would mean that Port Macquarie town centre landowners will continue funding the superior Port Macquarie town centre services that aren’t provided to Laurieton and Wauchope CBD.”

Mr Lipovac said the ten-year compounding impact of the rate freeze would be $33 million.

“It is almost certain that a special rate variation – a much higher increase in rates – will be required in the near future to recoup the revenue lost through any rate freeze and associated decisions,” he said.

But those on ‘Team Pinson’ including councillor Adam Roberts made no apology for upholding their election promise.

“We did actually take this policy to the previous election – we put it front and centre of a campaign and we got, I guess, one of the strongest amounts of support that any councillor team has ever had in this region, at that election,” he said during the Thursday meeting.

Port Macquarie Hastings councillor Lauren Edwards.

Ms Williams said ratepayers in her patch would be worse off in the long run.

“By introducing a rate freeze, the average saving to ratepayers is 16 cents a day, yet those same ratepayers will now see significant cuts to council services as well as increases in other fees,” the state MP said.

“With the mayor’s casting vote people using the local ferry services for example, primarily those residents of the North Shore, will now endure a weekly ticket price increase of 56.7 per cent since 2023.”

Now that a rescission motion has been lodged, an extraordinary meeting and vote will have to be held.

At least five councillors must attend for the meeting to have a quorum (a minimum number to proceed), and with the financial year ticking down it will have to be before the end of the week.

As the situation continued to develop late on Tuesday, Ms Sheppard said she was advised a quorum could not be reached.

“We four non-aligned councillors can make ourselves available at any time this week, such that only one ‘Team Pinson’ councillor would be required,” she said.

Ms Sheppard said the council has been “burdened with a rate freeze that was determined by a non-majority vote of councillors, against the advice of the Deputy Secretary of the Office of Local Government, independent financial specialists, council directors, and community engagement”.

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