Councils
What did my council actually decide, and what does it cost me? Five councils sit in this beat, each on a monthly meeting cycle: the coastal cities of Port Macquarie-Hastings and Coffs Harbour, and the valley shires of Kempsey on the Macleay, the Nambucca Valley and Bellingen. Each carries live local fights: Port Macquarie's coastal growth, its airport and the Sancrox employment land; Coffs's Jetty Foreshore redevelopment and the blueberry-industry land and water debates; Kempsey's Macleay-levee and flood-rebuild decisions; and Bellingen's distinct arts-and-environment politics.
We read the business papers, minutes and reports themselves, not the press-release summary, and set out the decisions on the merits: the budgets and rate variations, the major projects, the planning calls and the money. Councillors and mayors appear through their public roles and the public record, and the region's Nationals-heavy but shifting bench is covered on the decisions, never the contest.
They came back on 26 August and passed 8 votes to nil, same mover and seconder, same four clauses word for word. The law required the councillors' names on a planning decision. It did not require a reason for the five-week wait.
2 October 2026
Councils
Council promises the agenda by close of business the Thursday before, and minutes within three business days. Every route on its website lands on one portal, whose year filter runs 2013 to 2025 with no 2026 in it, and whose newest Ordinary Council agenda is 16 October 2025. We checked four ways, including a control that proves the method works.
16 August 2026
Councils
Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie-Hastings have seven consultations open, closing between 12 and 28 August: a development control plan amendment, a rezoning at Emerald Beach, a renewable energy plan, and what gets built for halls, public toilets and sports fields. Kempsey has none open. Which of them is actually worth your submission.
4 August 2026
Councils
Dual occupancy is already allowed across most of suburban Coffs, but only on lots of at least 800 square metres. The City has endorsed a planning proposal deleting that minimum, which it estimates would make about 5,000 more properties eligible, paired with design controls meant to keep the results in character. It now goes to the state for gateway determination. The day before, the council next door deferred its own housing rules.
30 July 2026
Councils
Valla is the Nambucca Valley's designated place to put new housing, on land the council owns and has been readying since 2012. On 22 July 2026 it was due to set the precinct's first building-height limits and minimum lot sizes and forward them to the Minister for Planning. It deferred the item, unanimously, 8 votes to 0, with no reason recorded in the minutes. A read of how slowly regional housing land comes online, read from the business paper and minutes themselves.
24 July 2026