In December 2024 Clarence Valley Council changed the structure and operation of its community advisory committees with the number of committees reduced from ten to four. In the past a councillor chaired the advisory committee meetings and a council officer from middle management attended and managed the committee’s business. The new committees are still chaired by a councillor but the council officer attending has been upgraded with the General Manager Laura Black now the council officer generally in charge of proceedings at all advisory committee meetings.
Community members were appointed to the four committees in mid-2025 with the first meetings being held in July.
Having been a long-term member of a pre-2025 advisory committee (Climate Change), I have been interested in the effectiveness of the new arrangement. I have looked at the operation of the Environment and Sustainability Advisory (E&S) Committee, chaired by Councillor Novak.
Five applicants were appointed to the E&S Committee with two resigning early in the piece. Several further advertisements saw more applicants appointed. There are now six members. Two meetings were held in 2025. In 2026 there have been three meetings – one of which went ahead despite the absence of a quorum. Two further meetings are scheduled for this year. It seems council, which originally wanted only four two-hour meetings a year, has finally twigged to the scale of the matters it wants this committee to discuss.
Having attended all but the first meeting in July 2025, I have seen changes in the meeting process and the committee members’ participation. Frustration about the timely provision of information prior to meetings saw members finally complaining – leading to this being improved. Another concern raised was the failure to present the Koala policy to the committee before it went to a council meeting and then on public exhibition.
A major positive is the increasing assertiveness of committee members while a major negative is the Chair’s determination to end the meeting well before two hours. Another problem is the proposed Working Groups. More on that another time.
- Leonie Blain
Published in the Voices for the Earth column in The Clarence Valley Independent 24th July, 2026 , under the title "Council and Community Consultation".
Update:
1) There are now seven community members of the E&S Committee
2) A further meeting was held on 1st September. Another meeting is scheduled for November.
3) Meetings are held in the Council Chambers in Prince St, Grafton. Community members may attend these meetings as observers.
