Dickerson supports new push for local government recognition

While everyone loves to bash their council, most ratepayers are probably unaware that local government is, in essence, only a sub-committee of the states with few real powers; though former mayor Mathew Dickerson is keen to see that changed!

Cr Dickerson has thrown his support behind a new push by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to have our “third tier” of government included in the Constitution, after 125 years of being the poor cousin to the state and feds.

This follows recent suggestions that ALGA is planning to call for a referendum on the matter at their 32nd National General Assembly in Canberra in June.

Just embarking on his first stint as mayor, Cr Dickerson remembers, the hopes raised more than a decade ago by the-then Gillard Government for the question to be put to the electorate, hopes which eventually came to nought.

“I was going to be part of that campaign as a young new mayor of a regional centre,” Cr Dickerson recalls of the 2013 campaign.

“The government was supportive of the push and was going to hold a vote at the upcoming federal election, and even bought a bill forward to amend Section 96 of the Constitution,” he added.

Politics, though, in the form of the Labor administration's s almost certain defeat in the upcoming election, eventually stymied the referendum altogether.

“The Rudd Government called the election, but there was a week short on the time required to hold a referendum, so it couldn’t be legally organised.

“They snookered us by a neck, and we missed out, though the Opposition, led by Tony Abbott, was probably not going to support it anyway.”

With the poor track record on referendums in recent decades, he argues that, while getting such a proposal passed, might be tough, it certainly stacks-up logically.

“Many studies have shown that local government by far, makes the most efficient use of public funds out of all tiers of government,” Cr Dickerson said.

“After all this time, why shouldn’t we be recognised in our Constitution, it just makes sense,” he concluded.

Shrink footprint and recycle creatively for 2026 comp

Local creatives, it’s time again to look to transforming rubbish into craft for the annual Waste 2 Art community competition, with this year’s theme, “Shrink your Footprint”.

Waste 2 Art allows schools, community groups and individuals to get involved and turn rubbish in the art with this year’s theme focussing on what we can do in our lives to help reduce our impact on the environment, Council’s Cultural Development Officer, Rebecca Walker said.

“The purpose of Waste 2 Art is to encourage everyone to reduce, reuse and recycle, and both challenge and change our attitudes about what we throw away,” Rebecca revealed.

“Each year we are always amazed at the volume of entries and the creativity shown through using recycled materials to create an artwork in line with the theme,” she added.

Categories comprise early education, primary and secondary school students, and community members and professional artists in the Open category including two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and functional art.

“All entries to the Waste 2 Art competition will be showcased in an exhibition at the Western Plains Cultural Centre from May,” Rebecca said. Entries close Friday, April 3. For more information, visit the Western Plains Cultural Centre website.

Smell that tar, as resealing program kicks-off

Council’s necessary but annoying annual bitumen resealing program is starting this month and should run till about the end of April, weather permitting.

Resealing will occur in 58 locations across Dubbo, Wellington and surrounding villages, with residents living on these impacted urban and village roads to be notified at least three days before works start via a letterbox notice.

Residents living or travelling along these roads should also expect minor delays during the work with traffic management, including stop-and-slow sings and closed lanes, to be on-site for the duration.

“Road resealing is a critical infrastructure program aimed at improving and extending the life of the Dubbo Region road network,” a Council flyer on the work stated.