With just over 12 months to go until the next NSW Government election, our advocacy focus for 2026 will be on seeking election commitments for our region in the lead up to the election.  As a first step in that campaign, our Board of Mayors will be travelling to Sydney on 19 & 26 March to meet with Government Ministers, Shadow Ministers and Hunter-based MPs to discuss our shared priorities around:

Economic Transformation  

• Urgent implementation of the recommendations from the NSW Parliament’s Inquiry into Beneficial and Productive Post-Mining Land Use  
• Confirming the NSW Government’s commitment and timeframe for assessing mining lands to identify future land-use options and planning
• Increasing the value of the Future Jobs Investment Program
• Investing $3.85m to market the Hunter region internationally and create new jobs in tourism
• Investing $1.6m to implement the Hunter Cycle Tourism Action Plan
• Investing $49M for the Newcastle Airport International Air Cargo Terminal and Precinct
• Establishing a community benefit funding model for the Hunter Renewable Energy Zone

Housing 

• Supporting Councils deliver the enabling infrastructure to deliver Local and State housing targets 
• Repurposing temporary housing used for the Hunter Transmission Project (and for future REZ projects) to contribute to long term housing across the region
• Funding master plans and enabling infrastructure to catalyse development of Transport Orientated Developments (TODs) in the Lower Hunter

Roads 

• Reform of road funding models to align with Council asset management cycles and to properly account for: longer road networks; heavier freight use; weather vulnerability; emergency access; connections to State significant assets; council capacity to fund; and grant payment timing (ie up front rather than in arrears)
• Confirming NSW Government expectations for the reclassification of local roads to State roads

Financial Sustainability

• Investing in core water infrastructure projects in the MidCoast and Upper Hunter Shire  
• Committing to a three-way equal shared funding model (federal, state & local) for funding improvements to council owned water & sewer infrastructure. 
• Returning 9% of the waste levy previously provided to Hunter councils to support delivery of the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041
• Supporting local government advocacy to the Federal Government to increase Financial Assistance Grants to 1% and a greater share of GST returned to NSW

Emergency Management 

• Updating disaster recovery funding arrangements to ensure regional council owned water infrastructure and community projects that boost community recovery are eligible for disaster recovery funding
• Establishing a betterment funding framework that allows resilience upgrades during the emergency works phase of recovery

Visit our website to view our Strategy and Regional Advocacy, where we build collaboration around these priorities with other levels of government, industry and community to better deliver outcomes for the region