Wagga Council's push to get rid of publish newspaper announcements fails to gain state-wide support

In a motion to this week's Local Government NSW annual conference, the council cited the declining reach of many local newspapers as the reason why the condition should be removed.

The motion said announcements in local papers failed to reach a large audience "that can now often be reached through other means".

All NSW councils are legally required to publish notices in newspapers under the Local Government Act.

"The cost impost of this requirement also restricts councils from being able to issue notices in other ways for greater reach," the motion said. "Removing this requirement allows councils to determine the best method to make announcements and ensure they reach their community."

Cr Vanessa Keenan, who was one of four Wagga councillors representing the city at the three-day conference, said some councils - particularly in rural locations - were concerned the motion would stop the community from staying informed.

However, Cr Keenan said the obligation continued to become "more, and more redundant" in the digital age, with people changing the way they receive information, and it was too costly.

"It is a protection for some people who aren't on the internet. But how much money do we spend on informing these people when all the people who are on the internet aren't using that traditional form?," she said.

"How many tens of thousands of dollars are we spending in hope that a small part of the population, who aren't on the internet, might get the paper and might read the public notices?"

Cr Keenan said the motion was not about hiding public announcements, rather informing the public through a different platform.

"We are already doing other things through our social media, website, e-newsletters and media releases," she said. "So we would still published them, but just online."

While society as a whole has been moving online, Wagga Ratepayers Association's Lynne Bodell said a significant portion of the community were not computer-literate.

"It's too soon to get rid of newspaper announcements because the older generation are still using the newspaper as their main source of information. It shouldn't be fazed out until everyone is online," she said.

A weekly four-page advertising supplement 'Council News' is distributed in The Weekend Advertiser as part of a commercial arrangement between Australian Community Media and the council.

The arrangement was recently renewed.