Councillor Ward received unanimous support for his claim at the NSW Local Government Association Annual Conference in Tamworth last week, in an unusual example of bipartisan agreement.

“It is incredibly difficult to get unanimous support in this kind of situation, so it really shows we all just want a fair go,” he said.

The government’s levy was originally introduced as a tax on landfill, Cr Ward explained, with all funds generated from the new impost going to environmental projects.

“But that’s not the case at all,” he claimed, pointing out the funds were actually being funnelled back into the State Government’s general revenue.

“Basically, we’re all funding the government’s massive black hole of debt, and that’s a rip-off for ratepayers,” Cr Ward said.

While maintaining that incentives to promote recycling and reduce landfill waste were “a really good idea”, the deputy mayor said it had to be done for the benefit of consumers.

“If we were getting what we were originally told we’d be getting, there wouldn’t be a problem.”