parliamentary committee on Monday morning at the Cobar Bowling & Golf Club.
The parliamentary committee inquiring into local government in NSW held a public meeting in Cobar on Monday with representatives from Cobar, Bourke, Bogan and Broken Hill councils invited to speak.
Cobar Shire Council’s mayor Lilliane Brady said all were in agreeance that local governments should remain “local”.
Cobar Shire’s general manager Gary Woodman said council believed they were ‘Fit for the Future’ after ticking off 90 actions listed in Council’s Financial Sustainability Action Plan.
“Several years of austerity and strong management has meant that council is once again in a strong financial position and focusing on providing strong service provision for our community,” Mr Woodman said.
“Council believes that there is no identified benefits of amalgamations of councils such as ours that cover such a large area.
“Amalgamations will not increase funding to address the backlog in road maintence.”
He also spoke about a number of non local government “unique” services council provides such as the Lilliane Brady Village retirement home, family day care services and the provision of doctor and dental surgeries.
“The community demands these services when other levels of government have failed to provide them in our community,” he said.
Mr Earl said it had been a priority that they attend the meeting. “If you want a voice it’s important to attend.” he said.
