Minister approves Cootamundra-Gundagai council split to undo 'disaster' merger
The Cootamundra Shire and Gundagai Shire Councils in southern NSW were combined by the then-Coalition government to improve efficiency and reduce administrative costs.
The Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council (CGRC) was among 19 new councils created from the amalgamation of 44 existing councils, including Snowy Valleys Council, Armidale Regional Council and Central Coast Council.
Announcing the planned split in Gundagai on Thursday, Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig said the forced merger was a "disaster".
"Merging councils for merging's sake does not work," he said.
Cr Hoenig said the policy of forced council mergers should be "dispensed with in the dustbin of history".
"This has been a long fight for Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council and the people of this particular region," he said.
The Coalition's planned council mergers were troubled from the outset, with the government making multiple amendments to its plan during its term.
In 2017, then premier Gladys Berejiklian allowed 14 other councils, that were fighting the merger push in court, to remain separate.
Then in 2022, the Coalition announced it would split CGRC, in a move local media dubbed "Independence Day".
In 2024, the new Labor government introduced legislation which provided a new pathway for NSW councils seeking to demerge.
Councils are now required to develop a robust business case up-front, undertake community consultation and undergo a review by the NSW Local Government Boundaries Commission.
CGRC Mayor Abb McAlister became emotional as news of the demerger was announced and said the road had been challenging.
"The journey we've had has been tough, but it's all-inspiring and it's one of those life experiences you have," he said.
"We finally got the result we wanted."
The council will now establish a transition office as work to formalise the split begins.
It will oversee the division of assets, liabilities, funding, staffing, services, and determining the councils' future structure.
Meanwhile, the state government will draft the legal paperwork required to re-establish the two separate councils.
The Office of Local Government will also assist the council through the process, including by working to identify funding to support the transition.
Cr McAlister said it could be another 12 months before the councils were completely demerged, but he expressed faith in the state government in finalising the split.
"We now start another journey the minister has given us to demerge, and he will fully support us," he said.
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