Thank you to Mayor Claire Pontin, Adrian Panuccio and the MidCoast Council team for hosting our final Hunter JO Board meeting for 2025 at the Administration & Customer Service Centre Yalawanyi Ganya in Taree.
It was valuable for all of our Member Councils to hear from MidCoast Council on their local priorities, their challenges and innovative approaches to delivering local waste services, and how Council and its communities have responded to and recovered from the extreme flood event experienced in May 2025.
Other highlights and focus areas for the meeting included:
- Adopting an updated Code of Meeting Practice for the Joint organisation based on the recently updated NSW Model Code
- Confirming the success of shared regional motions lodged by Member Councils to the 2025 LGNSW Local Government Conference
- Refining our advocacy approach for 2026 leading into the 2027 NSW Government election.
- Exploring potential approaches for improving collaboration between all levels of government to support and coordinate the region’s economic transformation
- A roundtable discussion with Office of Local Government representatives delving into the implications for Councils arising from the updated NSW Model Council Code of Meeting Practice.
We look forward to our 2026 Board Meetings to continue our collaboration and shared advocacy to support and strengthen our communities by being the local voice on strategic issues in the Region.