Kiama Council sent a contingent to the National General Assembly of Local Government in Canberra this week, gathering information and ideas from the largest annual gathering of local government leaders in Australia.

Chief executive officer Jane Stroud, Mayor Cameron McDonald and his fellow Councillors Stuart Larkins, Melinda Lawton and Mike Cains are representing Kiama at the assembly in Canberra.

The attendees from 537 Councils are getting through a mountain of work at the five-day conference with 192 motions being put forward.

“The conference essentially is Mayors, CEOs, Directors and Councillors from all over Australia.

"The topics we are talking about are financial sustainability and local government, roads and infrastructure, emergency management, housing and homelessness, jobs and skills, community services, Closing the Gap on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander reconciliation, data and digital technology, climate change, environment and the circular economy.

“Because of the structure - we're all created under state government - we then, as local governments, go through the process of what's important for us to advocate to the federal government about.

“It's palpable how much local government and people who work in the sector love their community and love the people who make up their community. You talk to people and there is such a great willingness to better people's lives in those communities. It's not just rhetoric, it is actually there, you can almost taste it.”

Cr Larkins said he was keen to enhance advocacy to the federal government around financial sustainability.

“One of the things that's been an issue has been the financial assistance grant. Currently, 0.5% of GST is provided to the 537 councils across Australia through the financial assistance grants and ALGA's been advocating for an increase in that to 1% of GST,” he said.

“So that's something that would benefit Kiama, if that was the case, to increase it.

“Being an Aboriginal councillor it is great to be able to network with many other Councillors and Mayors across Australia and seeing what many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been doing. I've been very heartened by the push for Reconciliation and the Indigenous heritage that are a big feature of this assembly.”

Cr Lawton said it was her first trip to an ALGA conference and it was pleasing to an insight into other Councils and “understanding how we're all in a similar position”.

“We seem to have a lot to do with very limited resources. In each locality, we've got different areas that we potentially suffer from. But at the end of the day, all of us are in the same boat where we're really trying to do as much as we can for communities with very limited resources.”

She said an AI seminar offered up plenty of ideas around the planning sector.

“That was very interesting, it could have great impacts, but it's a tool that has to be used wisely,” Cr Lawton said.

Cr Cains said the Conference was a chance for “learning, networking and being inspired”.

“We've been able to learn from so many of the different speakers, so many interesting insights into how different Councils overcome their different problems.

“It really does bring us away with a wider aperture so that we can understand our own Council much better.

“The networking opportunities are absolutely immense. We've been able to talk to councillors from everywhere, from Esperance to the Northern Territory, Queensland, and our neighbouring councils, Shoalhaven and Shellharbour.

“It's been a really worthwhile and really fulfilling event to be a part of.”

Stroud said she had been “catching up with peers and people I've worked with in the sector for the last 20-plus years”.

“There was a really big session this morning on adaptation and resilience. Through ISJO, we've actually been doing a two-year project on that and it was good to see that kind of shared across the nation.

“We're looking at a range of hazards, whereas, say, Hobart was only looking specifically at potential bushfire hazard. So we're looking at flooding, landslips, bushfires. Climate change is just going to keep coming at us."