TAMWORTH'S mayor has said a council climate emergency declaration would be "a bit of a farce".
It comes as Wagga Wagga joined a list of NSW councils taking a stand when it carried a motion to develop a climate emergency plan.
Advertisement
But Tamworth Regional Council mayor Col Murray said he doesn't care for "motherhood-statements" and what really mattered were the actions taken.
READ MORE:
"I don't think you have to declare a climate emergency, I think that's a bit of a farce," he said.
"I think it's the actions you take and the outcomes you seek that show you're taking climate seriously."
He said the council had been called on by the region to take climate action through its community strategic plan consultation.
Cr Murray said the council had acted accordingly in its pursuit of alternate energy sources including the landfill gas reuse project and switching to solar power at many of its facilities.
Cr Murray personally believed there was confusion around climate change and said there was "a lot of loose terminology associated with ideology".
He said the climate had been changing since the last ice age.
The recent water for the future study commissioned by the Namoi joint organisations of councils listed climate change as a threat to water security and made a raft of recommendations to strengthen water security and "overall economic growth and development of the region".
It said areas which relied on rivers and dams, like Tamworth, rather than groundwater, were "likely to be more susceptible to increases in evaporation due to temperature increases".
A report by the Australian National University predicted the New England region to be one of the most heavily affected by climate change; the worst case scenario seeing Tamworth become 4.5 degrees hotter by 2050.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is a producer for The Canberra Times. As part of production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth. He kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council, as well as the public health system, writing extensively about water security, the need for better palliative care services, and medicinal cannabis. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is a producer for The Canberra Times. As part of production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth. He kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council, as well as the public health system, writing extensively about water security, the need for better palliative care services, and medicinal cannabis. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
