Ku-ring-gai councillors spend $20,000 on two-night workshop at Hydro Majestic

Ratepayers will spend $20,000 for Ku-ring-gai councillors and staff to stay at the famous Hydro Majestic hotel in the Blue Mountains to debate a possible rate increase and how to respond to the government’s forced development push.

From Wednesday night to Friday morning, nine of Ku-ring-gai’s councillors and eight senior directors will dine and discuss key issues in the historic hotel’s function venues and dining rooms, overlooking the Megalong Valley.

The Hydro Majestic from above, as listed on hotel reservation site Booking.com.Credit: Booking.com

The two-night retreat was called a “workshop” by the Ku-ring-gai Council’s spokesperson, who said in a statement: “It was felt that holding the workshop at an event venue outside the Ku-ring-gai LGA provided the best environment to examine, discuss and resolve the above significant matters.”

Ku-ring-gai Mayor Christine Kay declined to comment.

The excursion is a step down from a similar two-night retreat the council held last year at The Convent, a luxurious hotel in the Hunter Valley. Local outlet The Post reported some councillors and directors brought their spouses and family members.

The council sought prices from three venues, a source with direct knowledge of the decision said. One of the three options was the luxurious Peppers Craigieburn Bowral resort.

While some councillors have privately expressed concern about the optics of going away amid a cost of living crisis, everyone agreed to go. But one, Cedric Spencer, confirmed his attendance for the booking before pulling out of the workshop, setting him up to be the only councillor not attending. He did not respond to requests for comment.

The Hydro Majestic is one of the most famous hotels in the country, and the smallest room is listed online for $209 a night.

Workshops to debate development

Councillors will have a lot to discuss. In December, the council – the only one in Sydney to fight the state government’s transport-oriented development plans – reached a secret agreement with the state over its legal fight over the reforms, but is yet to decide how to meet its housing target.

They will review the results of a community survey about alternative methods of reaching the council’s housing target instead of enacting the government’s plan for heightened density around train stations, including the possibility of keeping most of the LGA low-density while transforming one suburb into a 45-storey megalopolis.

Inside the Hydro Majestic, where Ku-ring-gai councillors will stay.Credit: Visit NSW

The group will also be asked to discuss whether to ask the independent pricing regulator IPART for permission to issue a special rate variation – to increase council rates – as local governments grapple with “cost-shifting”, by which programs previously funded by the state government are expected to be funded by local councils.

If the councillors vote to seek a rate increase, they would follow the January decision of Northern Beaches Council to hike rates by 40 per cent. In 2022-23, Ku-ring-gai charged an average of $1503 in annual rates, the seventh-highest rate in metropolitan Sydney.

A spokesperson said councillors and staff would review the council’s Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework, a system mandated for use by the Office of Local Government to ensure planning meets regulations.

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