Newcastle council's budget debate and decision to apply for a one-off rate rise has roused a war of words, with the lord mayor accusing a rival councillor of misogyny and the term "Church-nomics" bandied around the chamber.
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Labor councillors spoke glowingly about the draft $424 million budget at Tuesday's meeting, which includes what CEO Jeremy Bath said was the largest works budget by a Hunter council at $132 million.
But the point of much contention was the decision to apply for a one off 2.5 per cent rate rise - made available to NSW councils after Newcastle's cap was set at 1.2 per cent. Mr Bath said Maitland was the only council he knew of that hadn't applied for the additional rate.
On one side of the debate was Labor and the Greens - who said the rise didn't match inflation and was necessary to deliver a surplus and vital infrastructure.
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On the other was Independent councillor John Church and Liberal Callum Pull, who argued the rise came after years of increasing rates above inflation and that additional costs shouldn't be dumped onto residents but council should instead review its expenses.
Cr Church said council was receiving $60 million more in rates than 2015 and user fees and charges were also up 55 per cent.
"Any rate increase will impact the most vulnerable," he said. "Surely now is the time to offer some rate relief."
Mr Bath said 70 per cent of the user charge and fee increase was from commercial income from Summerhill waste centre - 47 per cent of which went to the NSW government, 18 per cent related to the growth of the airport and 6 per cent from statutory and regulatory fees.
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes took issue with Cr Church's statistics, labelling them as "misinformation". Deputy mayor Declan Clausen went as far as referring to them as "Church-nomics" which was withdrawn after a point of order from Liberal Jenny Barrie, who said she'd had enough of the "slinging".
In a separate point of order, Cr Nelmes also accused Cr Church of misogyny for "speaking over me and telling me that I can't hear properly" after he disputed Labor councillor Elizabeth Adamczyk saying the rate increase was "not a rate rise".
Cr Pull said rates had continually gone up under Labor and the Greens, to reach fifth highest in NSW in 2019/20.
"It is not a tough decision to reach into someone else's pocket," he said. "I would have thought that after 14 years this council should start pulling its own weight."
But Greens councillor Charlotte McCabe said taxes and rates weren't like taking out of someone's pocket and were important to contribute for a greater benefit.
Cr Nelmes said the average rate rise worked out about $40 a year, and she was interested to hear feedback during the exhibition period.
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
