Late last week the General Manager Peter Vlatko and myself attended the Country Mayors Meeting held at the Parliament House Conference Room in Macquarie Street, Sydney.
It was addressed by Ministers and Shadow Ministers of the newly elected parliament and what little news there was did not appear encouraging to Cobar Shire Council.
The majority of news was that nothing of substance would be handed down prior to the September budget, however one glaring item mentioned by the second speaker, the Minister for Western New South Wales [Tara Moriarty], intimated that Resources for Regions was being looked at as a candidate for scrapping.
This would be an utter disaster for Cobar.
The Resources for Regions grant last year consisted of some two to two and a half times the entire rate base charged by Council.
It is not as if this grant is not raised from emoluments earned in the Cobar Shire, as it is based on a small percentage of royalties paid by mines in the shire directly to the State Government on the value of mine production.
The rate base for Cobar is minuscule compared to a Randwick or Waverly Council in Sydney both of which have the substantial secondary revenue flow from parking meters.
We intend to lobby the Minister heavily to retain this grant.—Peter Abbott, Mayor
