March 2nd 2026 - Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig has requested at least 2000 more signatures from eligible Pittwater voters before he will refer the proposal to reinstate Pittwater Council to the NSW Boundaries Commission.
Minister Hoenig conceded in a parliamentary speech on 8 May 2024 that the legislation only required 250 signatures for a community-lead s215 proposal to be valid. Back then, he added that it would take a lot more than that to convince him to refer such a proposal to the boundaries commission – but never gave a precise number.
In the months that followed that speech, Protect Pittwater’s hardworking volunteers set about gathering those signatures from Pittwater Electors and well over 4000 signatures were presented to the Minister at Parliament House on 19 March 2025.
In a letter to Protect Pittwater President Simon Dunn earlier this month, Minister Hoenig recognised the significant effort Protect Pittwater had put into its s215 proposal and apologised for his delayed response. In his letter copied to all Northern Beaches Local Members and to Northern Beaches Council he went on to say:
“For a proposal to proceed to the Boundaries Commission, I need to be assured that it has a substantial degree of support.”
“Accordingly, I request that you seek at least a further 2,000 signatures.”
After so long waiting for a response, Protect Pittwater is now regrouping to achieve the new target set by the Minister Hoenig and is spurred on in its mission not only by the growing discontent with Northern Beaches Council but also by Minister Hoenig and the NSW Boundaries Commission furthering two other proposals for de-amalgamation.
The Pittwater community will see our volunteers back on the streets in the coming weeks as we gather additional signatures from those residents who desperately want to bring back a lean and local council that listens to its community and safeguards Pittwater’s precious natural environment. We are confident that Pittwater’s proposal will be next to be referred to the Boundaries Commission and that Local Government will be restored to this area.
Northern Beaches Council was the most complained about council in NSW, with 153 complaints received by the OLG, Office of Local Government, (download Complaint Statistics 2024-2025)— well above the state average of 15 complaints per council, and ahead of the next highest, Clarence Valley, which received 114.
The top complaint categories are financial management, council governance, customer service, and maladministration — this aligns with the controversy over the council's special rate increase during that period. Initially pitched at a 40% increase, the rate hike proposal provoked widespread anger across the LGA (local government area). Even after IPART's (Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales) intervention reduced it to 25.2%, the outcome still represents a substantial burden on ratepayers and is in addition to the standard annual capped rise.
Northern Beaches Council disputed the significance of the complaint numbers, pointing to record customer satisfaction levels of 80%+ from over 8,000 customers surveyed, and suggested the rate variation debate was the primary driver of OLG contacts.
Despite the volume of complaints, only one adverse finding was substantiated against the council, and the OLG did not refer any complaints back to the council for action.
The Office of Local Government complaint process:
Complaints about a local council should be made directly to the council itself. If the council does not resolve the issue, the next step is to escalate to the Office of Local Government. Complaints can be made by submitting a Council Complaint Form online, or in writing, or even verbally. The complaint form is at: olg.nsw.gov.au/about-us/
Who can complain:
- Residents and ratepayers within a council's local government area
- Landowners (even if they don't live there)
- Local businesses and organisations
- Councillors themselves (about other councillors or council processes)
- Anyone who has had dealings with a council
.
In December 2025, Anna Maria Monticelli, Secretary of Protect Pittwater, applied and was denied 3 minutes speaking at the last Public Forum the Northern Beaches Council held as part of council meetings. Her address articulates these ongoing concerns of the Pittwater community, many of whom have dubbed the NBC just another version of Warringah Council, still pulling millions out of Pittwater to spend in Warringah while laying down concrete where it’s not wanted, putting in park benches on corners from which to view traffic, and plastic grass into known flood zones - just to up the kinds of pollution flowing into the estuary or onto the beaches every time it rains - and even as these materials are being installed.
In recent months residents have seen both the Public Forum and Public Address opportunities being excised by members of political parties or lobbyist groups to express their opinions, and were becoming increasingly frustrated these are being used in this way.
The Public Forum provided an opportunity for residents to speak on any matter. The Public Address provided an opportunity for residents to speak on Items listed in the Agenda of council meetings, limited to two for and two against. Under new Code Meeting practices passed by the council at the December 2025 meeting both the public forum and public address have been removed from council meetings. The NSW Office of Local Government’s Model Code of Meeting Practice for Local Councils in NSW for 2025 states these can still be held directly before a council meeting.
The document reiterates:
4. Public forums
4.1 The council may hold a public forum prior to meetings of the council and committees of the council for the purpose of hearing oral submissions from members of the public on items of business to be considered at the meeting. Public forums may also be held prior to meetings of other committees of the council.
4.2 The council may determine the rules under which public forums are to be conducted and when they are to be held.
4.3 The provisions of this code requiring the livestreaming of meetings also apply to public forums.
In the government’s FAQs it is stated: The public forum provisions are now mandatory but leave it to councils to determine whether to hold public forums before council and committee meetings.
Source link with more information Pittwater Online News January 2026
On November 29, 2025, residents of the Snowy Valleys Council (SVC) delivered a resounding mandate for de-amalgamation, voting overwhelmingly in favour of returning the two previous councils to their former boundaries.
The referendum, requested by Minister Ron Hoenig, MP, marks the culmination of a long-standing campaign by Tumbarumba to overturn the controversial forced merger with Tumut.
With vote counting nearly complete, at time of writing (6 Dec), an outstanding 87% of residents have voted 'YES' including a significant majority from the former Tumut Shire. The decision now rests with Minister Hoenig, who is expected to move toward proclamation, formalising the demerger.
A long-standing proponent for demerging mega councils, Minister Hoenig declared, “The important thing is the communities of Snowy Valleys are given the choice to make this decision for themselves – not have it made for them by the state government which has no mandate to interfere with local democracy.”
Campaign leaders attribute the success to the sustained support of an invested community, and highlight the hard work of Justin Clancy, MP for Albury, and Dr. Joe McGirr, MP for Wagga who championed the cause through government.
In Dr. Joe McGirr’s words, “The YES vote shows the communities of the Snowy Valleys are committed to charting a new future with more localised council representation."
Relevant Link - Twin Town Times news
Relevant Link - Snowy Valleys Council info
On 17 July 2025 the Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig MP announced the demerger of Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council (CGRC). Council will now commence transition work to initiate the dissolution of Cootamundra-Gundagai, and establish two new councils.
CGRC Councillors met the minister in August, alongside local Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke MP and the Deputy Secretary of the Office of Local Government, Mr Brett Whitworth to hear directly from the Minister about the expectations of the proposed demerger. The Minister made it clear that the demerger process is now firmly in the hands of councillors and that the outcome must be shaped by their leadership on behalf of the local community.
The Minister also acknowledged that the demerger of CGRC is a trailblazing exercise, setting the path for other councils across NSW that may seek to go through a similar process in the future.
As quoted by the Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoenig in a NSW State Government media release:
- “The work by the Boundaries Commission confirms what the Council had been saying since 2016 and what I had been saying since 2012. The former government’s ‘Fit for the Future’ policy was only a ruse to effect widespread amalgamations."
- “Let Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council serve as a cautionary tale for future governments and academics who believe that merged councils provide better economies of scale and better services."
- "May it stand as the folly that it was, so we can finally discard forced amalgamations for amalgamations sake into the waste bin of history.”
Relevant links
Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council gets Minister’s support to prepare for a demerger
https://www.pittwateronlinenews.com/Protect-Pittwater-Update-July-2025.php