WALCHA has spoken, and today the community of Guyra will get its turn in telling the NSW government exactly what it thinks of its local government amalgamation plans.
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Hundreds turned out in Walcha yesterday, with 60 speakers – with three minutes each – explaining just why the shire’s proposed merger with Tamworth Regional Council is a bad idea.
It was more than enough time for residents to express their outrage and disappointment in the proposal and all the reasons why it’s so important for the town and surrounds to retain their autonomy.
Mayor Janelle Archdale also made the point it wasn’t about “Walcha vs Tamworth or Tamworth vs Walcha”, it was about her council’s belief it had the means to stand alone and the feeling her shire had been singled out.
It’s a good point, too, because this process can’t be allowed to undermine the relationships councils in this region have established in order to increase their efficiencies and enhance their financial standings into the future.
This collaborative approach has been encouraged by state governments, including the current one, particularly with respect to regional councils, and touted as an approach that could potentially ward off the threat of amalgamations.
Well, now the rug’s been pulled out from underneath many of them, but yesterday’s massive public turnout in Walcha shows they won’t go down without a fight. This has to be about much more than lines on a map.
The tyranny of distance is a stark reality in regional NSW in a way those who live in our cities just can’t understand. Some of the smaller councils in Sydney also have a right to be outraged over proposed mergers with their neighbours, but the simple fact is the main base for their proposed new council won’t be more than 90 minutes away. There are no gravel roads in need of regular grading, causeways in need of maintenance or kilometres of road verges requiring slashing numerous times a year.
Councils are also often the main employer in our smaller towns, and mergers, however the state government wants to spin it, always mean job losses. The loss of jobs our small neighbours can’t afford.
Of course they’re scared, and of course they’re angry and they don’t want to be told it’s for their own good.
These communities have heard it all before as government departments and banks continue to downgrade their presence in these areas.
What it has done, though, is make the people of these communities more tight-knit and honed the residents’ fighting spirit. That spirit will be on show again today in Guyra, and we can only hope the government is listening.
