Coffs Harbour City Council voted 4–3 on September 24 to rescind its 2022 declaration of a climate emergency.
The motion was put by Mayor Nikki Williams, who also sought to remove Scope 3 emissions from the council’s Renewal Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan (REERP) and delay accepting the plan for several months.
Williams stood as an independent, but local media has reported that she is a member of the National Party.
Greens Councillor Jonathan Cassell, who put the initial climate emergency motion in 2022, said council had “smash[ed] climate action in our council for the foreseeable future”.
“Climate inaction is costing us more and more, and if we aren’t prepared to act swiftly and urgently to address climate change then we are going to pay more in future.”
The 2022 motion passed 5–4, after impassioned speeches from students from local high schools who called for urgent action on climate change.