Rodney Stevens
Clarence Valley Council will recommence advertising in the Clarence Valley Independent after a motion put forward by councillor Bill Day was supported six votes to two at the June council meeting.
In April, the Yamba Community Action Network Yamba CAN Inc. launched a petition calling on Clarence Valley Council CVC to advertise important information in the Independent such as development applications DA’s, exhibitions, notices, planning proposals and community consultations.
Yamba Can Inc. Chair Col Shephard said the petition was launched because community members felt like they were being ‘left in the dark’ as council’s advertising is currently done through a weekly newsletter available via email to ratepayers, on its website, in the quarterly Clarence magazine and Facebook.
CVC last advertised DA’s in the Independent, of which 12,000 copies are circulated weekly throughout the entire valley, in 2015.
Until 2020 the Office of Local Government OLG required councils to advertise in local newspapers, then in response to the Covid pandemic, the OLG sent a circular to councils on April 17, 2020, that advertising in local newspapers was now optional, which continued to apply after Covid.
“…in response to the closure of some local newspapers and to assist councils to reduce their costs, the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 (the Regulation) has been amended to remove requirements for newspaper advertising,” the circular said.
At the June 27 CVC meeting, Cr Allison Whaites declared a non-pecuniary conflict of interest and left the chamber before the motion was put to council.
Cr Bill Day moved the motion that Council redesign the current weekly ‘banner’ advertisement in the local independent newspaper to include a basic listing for current Development Applications DA’s and important Council matters that require public notice or participation, which was seconded by Cr Jeff Smith.
“Our General Manager suggested during our briefing session on Friday that Clarence Valley Council’s advertising budget could be rearranged to find an extra $10,000 a year to double the size of this advertisement,” Cr Day said.
Cr Karen Toms said she didn’t agree with the opinion in the meeting agenda ‘that Council does not use the current advertising budget in the local ‘free’ Independent’ newspaper as effectively as it should’, and any resident impacted by a DA is notified by council and they can seek further information or make submissions.
Cr Peter Johnstone said people had raised that they weren’t getting enough information from council on Councillor listening tours and if advertising in the Independent will make a difference to people ‘let’s do it.’
Speaking against the motion, Cr Debrah Novak said the current budget of $20,000 was ‘more than enough’ for councils advertising in the Independent and people need to become better informed about what is happening with council by seeking information that is at our fingertips.
When the motion was passed Yamba CAN Inc’s chair Col Shephard said, “Great work Cr Bill Day! He and the other five Councillors, Mayor Ian Tiley, Deputy Mayor Greg Clancy, Cr Steve Pickering, Cr Peter Johnstone and Cr Jeff Smith are really tuned into and listening to community needs and wants.”
“Not all residents have the technical knowhow or a device to keep track of Council’s information and those that do, do not necessarily have the time to do so,” Mr Shephard said.
“Residents living across the Clarence Valley LGA are interested in DAs and exhibitions and other events that are occurring throughout the whole Valley. What happens throughout the whole of the Clarence Valley local government area affects all ratepayers as there are costs incurred to make things happen, so the advertising will be most beneficial.
“The most important thing here is that as our elected representatives, Councillors need to ensure that all residents and ratepayers in the Clarence Valley are kept informed of Council’s operations over all media platforms, and this information includes Proposed Developments, Notices of Development Consents, what’s on Exhibition and upcoming events.
“The notification of Council’s operations needs to be provided on a number of platforms and these include Council’s Facebook, websites, hard copy in newspapers and hardcopy direct to impacted households to ensure residents impacted by Council’s proposals are kept informed and up-to date of occurrences.”
Although the motion was passed by council, Cr Day told the Independent he wants to see the final result ‘before he throws his hat up in the air’ in celebration.
Clarence Valley Independent General Manager Ann Mazzitelli thanked Yamba CAN Inc, Cr Day and readers for their support and ensuring all avenues of advertising important council information are utilised.