Gunnedah council mayor Jamie Chaffey and general manager Eric Groth were among the 885 delegates who met in Canberra this week at the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) annual conference.

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Cr Chaffey said it was great to spend time with other council delegates "to learn more about what's happening in their regions and developing issues that are of concern for our sector", including the ongoing drought.

"There was a one-day conversation on regional issues, and drought certainly was front and centre of that conversation, with many different aspects to do with drought and the effects of drought throughout Australia," Cr Chaffey said.

Both council representatives attended the ALGA national general assembly to discuss "many developments within the local government sphere".

The assembly, held from June 16-19, aimed to consider what councils could do to get ready for the future's challenges, opportunities and changes.

Topics of discussion included affordable housing, climate change, drought, and much more.

Cr Chaffey said he also enjoyed hearing from the newly appointed minister for local government and Parkes MP Mark Coulton, and shadow minister for local government Jason Clare.

"Both members of parliament laid out their plans to work with local government ... and recognised that local government are the closest tier of government when delivering services and supporting our communities," he said.

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