Tiley recruited to expert panel
FORMER Clarence Valley mayor Dr Ian Tiley has been selected to be part of an expert panel to re- write the NSW Local Government Act.
Minister for Local Government Don Page made the announcement this week, saying the act needed to be re-written "in plain English".
"We want to ensure the legislation is more easily understood by the people who rely upon it, and that includes the ratepayers and the local government sector," Mr Page said.
Dr Tiley told The Daily Examiner re-writing the act would be a challenging task but he would be drawing on five decades of local government experience.
"There's been 188 amendments to the act since it was introduced in 1993 and there's a question of it retaining its relevance in the modern era," Dr Tiley said.
"We're meeting with (the minister) in Parliament House on September 6 to be briefed and we'll determine how we'll operate at that time.
"My view is that we need to get out and listen to the councils and the communities across the state."
Dr Tiley said the opportunity to be part of the four-person expert panel had nothing to do with his decision not to stand for council again.
"I decided that at the age of 65 it was the right time to go and I wanted to go on my terms - I didn't want to stay too long," he said.
"I'd been an elected councillor for 21 years and to do that job properly it takes a great deal of time and effort and I felt it was time for younger people to fill the breach.
"If I'd have done another term I would have been close to 70.
"I completed my doctorate in March this year and since that time I've had a lot of other offers."
Dr Tiley said the panel was expected to present a final report to the minister by the end of September 2013.
