At last night's Council meeting, discussions included cat containment and the indoor playground.
Here are some key decisions.
Cat containment
Council has reaffirmed its support for containing cats to their owner's property. This is to protect native wildlife, reduce the risk of injury or death to cats and minimise neighbourhood disturbances. Council will write to the NSW Minister for Local Government, the Shadow Minister for Local Government, the Member for Orange, and Local Government NSW expressing support for legislative reform to include cat containment provisions in the Companion Animals Act 1998 (NSW). Council will also request funding from the state to support education, compliance, and animal shelter capacity.
Cemetery GST
Local Councils are no longer required to charge GST for burial rights in public cemeteries, the renewal of a burial right in a public cemetery and permissions under state/territory law to bury remains or install memorials at the location covered by the burial right. Council's current cemetery-related fees and charges need to be updated to reflect this new GST position. These changes will be publicly exhibited for at least 28 days.
Annual Report
Council has endorsed the 2024/2025 annual report, which provides a clear and transparent account of how we're delivering on commitments we've made in our Delivery Program and Operational Plan, shaped by the vision in the Community Strategic Plan 2022-2032. We've achieved many things in the past 12 months, including:
- 35,000 people visited the Adventure Playground in the first two months of it reopening
- 1,900 metres of shared footpaths were upgraded in Moulder Park
- 5,302 native plants were added across Orange
- Nearly 150 event bookings were made throughout the year
- Our Customer Service Team answered 28,000 phone calls
Indoor playground
Council will soon invite expressions of interest from businesses to establish an indoor playground. As part of this process, Council intends to propose a specific building as the potential location.
