The Cooks River Alliance Management Committe met on 28 May 2026. The meeting was held online. Below is a summary of what was discussed and voted on.
Attendees:
Bayside Council
Voting Delegates: Cr. Peter Strong (PS), Cr. Heidi Douglas (HD)
City of Canterbury-Bankstown
Voting Delegate: Cr. Clare Raffan (CR)- Chair and Voting Councillor delegate
Inner West Council
Voting Delegate: Cr. Mat Howard (MH)
Strathfield Council
Absent: Esther Kim (Strathfield Council), Sandy Reddy (Strathfield Council)
Sydney Water
Voting Delegates: Leanne Niblock, Connor Peters
Appologies: Nathan Moran (Metro Aboriginal Land Council)
Decisions
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More Transparency around Cooks River Alliance Decision-Making
The Cooks River Valley Association (CRVA) requested that the Cooks River Alliance Management Committee Meeting minutes be published publicly. Read the full letter HERE.
The Committee resolved that: The future Cooks River Alliance Management Committee meeting summary be made available online going forward. This can include apologies, whose attended, etc, but exclude any confidential matters.
Moved by LN, seconded by MH
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Formal Positions on Shared Issues
Representatives from the CRVA requested that the Cooks River Alliance members consider the issues of lighting, invertebrates and (storm) water quality concerning the Cooks River. Discussion followed around the potential for the Alliance to create formal positions on issues that are shared across LGA’s. The purpose of formal positions would be to prevent the scenario whereby each Council addresses an issue such as synthetic turf, on a case-by-case basis. The current methodology was referred to as ‘playing whack-a-mole’ with the same issues across each LGA.
The Committee resolved that: Respective Committee members take the letter from CRVA about Dark Skies and Council Lighting, Supporting Invertebrates, and Improving Cooks River (Storm) Water Quality back to their respective councils and have the CRVA’s requests reviewed by the appropriate staff in their councils for comment and potential actions.
Moved by PS, seconded by LN
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Official Achievement of the 2025 Cooks River Litter Prevention Target
In 2021 the Cooks River Alliance launched its Cooks River Litter Prevention Strategy under a previous grant through the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). This strategy set a target to achieve a 50% Litter Reduction by 2025. This Litter Strategy was endorsed by the Cooks River Alliance and Member Councils in the same year.
Due to the efforts of the past and present CRA Litter Prevention Lead, the Alliance organisations, stakeholders and the NSW EPA, the NSW EPA has confirmed that we have met our target. Accordingly, our current CRA Litter Prevention Lead (Hiti Gandhi) is drafting a new litter prevention strategy for the Cooks River.
The Committee resolved to: A. Move to formally acknowledge the completion of the current Litter Prevention Strategy and the achievement of its target and, accordingly, endorse the creation of the new / updated Litter Prevention Strategy and target. (Move by MH, Seconded by PS) B. Formally announce the achievement of the 50% reduction of litter by 2025 target of the current Cooks River Litter Prevention Target by the Cooks River Alliance at their respective council meetings, and that Sydney Water do the same through their official channels. (Move by LN, Seconded by PS)
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Capacity of the Alliance’s Secretariat Team
Staffing issues and resourcing constraints have caused project delays in recent years. The Secretariat is now at near-full capacity, with three core positions (Executive Officer, Senior Engagement Officer & Senior Catchment Officer) filled. Additional roles have been added to the core team of 3, funded entirely through limited-term grants from the EPA & Greater Sydney Landcare. It was be noted that even at full capacity, the Alliance Secretariat Team still lacks administrative support. Ideally, the core team should consist of an additional administrative position to reduce the amount of time the core staff spend on administrative tasks. Accordingly, the Alliance is seeking membership from councils that are currently not members of the Alliance, including Burwood and Georges River.
Additional funding through new member for the Alliance Secretariat would increase the partnership’s ability to effectively manage multiple projects (estimated ~$25 million) whilst fulfilling obligations to the community, member organisations and funding partners.
The Committee resolved that: delegates raise a Notice of Motion and their respective next council meetings to write to Burwood Council and Georges River Council to follow up on the Alliance’s Executive Officer’s provision of encourage them to join the Alliance.
Moved by PS. Seconded by MH