LOCAL Government Minister Paul Toole was in Tamworth yesterday to meet with the Namoi Councils Joint Organisation during their AGM.
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I was a little bit nervous at first, but I’ve seen the benefits that come back to the communities. Rural villages were building playgrounds and tennis courts, things they couldn’t afford as a smaller council.
- Local Government Minister Paul Toole, on his experience as mayor of a shire that went through a merger.
The joint organisation includes Tamworth Regional Council, Gwydir, Gunnedah, Liverpool Plains, Moree Plains and Walcha councils and yesterday’s AGM saw a motion passed to include Uralla as a full member.
Mr Toole said the Namoi pilot group was leading the way for joint organisations in the state.
The other pilot regions include Central NSW, Illawarra, Riverina and Hunter.
The minister announced he aimed to have the joint organisations legislated by the middle of 2016.
Mr Toole also used the opportunity to meet briefly with each council, where representatives hoped to air any concerns regarding the next phase of the Fit for the Future process.
Walcha shire mayor Janelle Archdale said she would use the meeting to reiterate what she told the minister in a previous meeting.
Cr Archdale said other options would need to be pursued if the shire’s wish to remain independent was not granted.
“We need to know what those next steps are; there is no transition process. We don’t know what that will involve. We have to know what those steps are going to be,” Cr Archdale said on potential amalgamations.
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson was also at the meeting and said he remained committed to supporting the decisions of the local governments in his electorate.
“I’ve been talking with local councils and ratepayers and they’re saying they want their councils to be strong,” he said.
Walcha shire was deemed “not fit” after it failed to meet the scale and capacity benchmark.
Mr Anderson said he wanted to see the smaller regional centres grow and it would be important to provide an environment where smaller areas would be able to grow their scale and capacity.
Minister Paul Toole called on his experience as mayor of a shire that went through a merger, and said smaller rural villages can thrive in an amalgamation.
“I was a little bit nervous at first, but I’ve seen the benefits that come back to the communities.
“Rural villages were building playgrounds and tennis courts, things they couldn’t afford as a smaller council,” he said.
The Local Government Minister said “some areas are declining, not attracting, and not attracting investment from business”.
Mergers are continuing to be put forward as the best option by the minister who said “jacking up rates wouldn’t be a sustainable option”.
“Thirty-two councils have actually put increases of 30 per cent or more as a part of their IPART submission,” he said.
The minster confirmed councils and communities right across NSW would know exactly where they stand before the end of 2015.