ABOUT 60 speakers at Walcha gave the Boundaries Commission a unanimous and resounding “no thanks” to the proposed merger with Tamworth at the public inquiry yesterday.
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Young and old residents alike joined together in sharing their concerns over the proposal, and, with a three-minute limit for speeches, each speaker spoke concisely about their desire to retain their council.
Walcha Central School student Meg Kealey, 10, captured the attention of the audience, identifying a number of council members and the role they had in the community.
“But do you know how many Tamworth councillors I know? None.
“It’s hard to believe for one minute that Tamworth will even think about what Walcha needs or wants,” she said.
“We’re 3000 people against 61,000 people.
“It just doesn’t make sense.”
The tyranny of distance was a recurring theme in a number of speeches, with Yarrowitch resident Hamish McLaren highlighting challenges coming with the sheer size of the proposed boundary change.
“I live about 60km from Walcha and our council services are very good,” he said.
“When we need our gravel road graded, we can go through the right channels to get it done.
“I live 170km from Tamworth and have neighbours who are a lot further than that. Can you tell me if we’re going to get the same service from Tamworth Regional Council?”
Mr McLaren said Walcha Council consistently punched above its weight, and asked why it couldn’t continue in the future.
“As a community and a standalone shire, we consistently hold our own. Why can’t this continue?” he said.
He also noted the generosity of the community.
“In the last 15 years, more than $700,000 has raised for the Westpac chopper by the Walcha community,” he said.
After adjusting the microphone to an appropriate height, Walcha-based children’s author John Heffernan took umbrage to the idea that being small was to be a failure.
Mr Heffernan went on to say it would be a great tragedy if Walcha ended up a “pimple on the arse of Tamworth”.
Tim Naughton asked the delegates to put the boot on the other foot when considering the merger.
“If we went down to Tamworth and said ‘right, we’re going to amalgamate and we want Tamworth to become a part of the Walcha Regional Council and we’re going to have our office in Walcha’, they would not accept it for a minute,” he said.
