Latest news with #Cootamundra
ABC News
18-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Cootamundra-Gundagai demerger ignites hope for other NSW councils
A decision to split a merged council has offered hope to other New South Wales shires fighting for the same cause. The Cootamundra and Gundagai councils were forced to merge in 2016 when the state government created 19 new councils from the amalgamation of 44 existing councils. A decade-long campaign to demerge ensued and on Thursday locals got their wish. "It was a great day for local democracy," Demerge NSW Alliance coordinator and Save Bombala president Grantley Ingram said. "The minister has listened to the community of Gundagai and Cootamundra and he's acted on their wishes." The 2016 decision to amalgamate councils was made by the former Coalition government to improve efficiency and reduce administrative costs. But Mr Ingram said that was "nonsense", and "roads, rates and rubbish" were common issues faced by merged councils, as well as the loss of council-run aged care facilities and staff turnover. He said people had wanted out in his town of Bombala, which was forced to merge into the Snowy Monaro Regional Council. "It's just not working," he said. Snowy Valleys Council was also among the 19 newly created councils, combining the Tumut Shire and Tumbarumba Shire councils. Councillor and former Tumut mayor Trina Thomson said both communities had different wants and needs. "It's like trying to run two separate councils under one umbrella," she said. "We believe that going forward, a demerger would enable us to have that independent, unique identity." The sentiment is not shared in the NSW western plains, where Dubbo Regional councillor Matthew Dickerson believes most people have accepted the merger between Dubbo and Wellington shires. "The eggs have been broken, the omelettes have been made," he said. "I think that moment has gone and I don't think there is any appetite for a de-amalgamation. "We're moving on in the world." During Thursday's announcement, Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig said there was now a legislative pathway for other merged councils to consider splitting. "We will not forcibly merge or demerge councils," he said. "These are decisions for communities, they are not decisions for governments. "[Governments] need to get their nose out of local government and their nose out of local communities that are more than capable of managing their own affairs. "The responsibility on effecting the demerger is in the hands of the democratically elected councillors." Mr Ingram agreed that councils were best to lead the process of demerging, and community consultation was paramount. "While I think it's a disaster, there may be others that quite like our regional council," he said. "We need to assess the wishes of the community."
ABC News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Minister approves Cootamundra-Gundagai council split to undo 'disaster' merger
The New South Wales government will split a local council for the first time since dozens were controversially merged almost a decade ago. 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.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cost of climate change hits regions and budget hard
Frequent bushfires and flooding have exploded natural disaster recovery and relief costs as 3.2 million regional residents are being promised upgraded hospitals, new preschools and better roads. As communities in northern NSW continued cleaning up from inundating floods in May and the memory of February's Cyclone Alfred faded, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey on Tuesday set aside another $4.2 billion towards future and past disaster relief. That figure, outlined in the 2025/26 state budget, was "likely to increase in response to both previous and potentially new natural disasters", he noted. It comes amid yearly disaster relief spending hitting $1.6 billion since the 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires, a 10-fold increase on the prior six years. Several areas have been hit twice, including the northern rivers smashed by record-breaking floods in 2022 and significant flooding in March. Some $2.3 billion will be specifically allocated to repair cratered local and state roads damaged in Lismore and surrounding towns, as well as in the Hunter. Another $63 million will be dedicated to relocating locals in the northern rivers looking for safer residential options. while $27 million is being injected into water and sewer infrastructure in central west NSW. But feral pest management funding has been slashed 30 per cent while drought-affected farmers, selling their sheep and cattles at record rates, are left empty-handed for now. "Areas around the Riverina, Cootamundra council areas have been in drought now for literally 12 months ... no recognition from this government around what that means," Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said. "In the last month, there's been a little bit of rain, but that does not make the season and there's concerns about that drought spreading." He also attacked a record $1 billion injection in biosecurity measures saying it was "paltry" amid myriad threats from fire ants, cattle tick, varroa mites and foot-and-mouth "knocking on the door". Labor's budget also targets a more environmentally-minded future with a focus on renewable energy. Some $2.1 billion over four years will primarily support five renewable energy zones, unlocking billions more in private investment. Farmers and agribusiness will get $45 million to help digital technology and on-farm connectivity while $48 million will boost mobile phone coverage on highways. An additional $2.1 billion will be invested in building and upgrading schools in Dapto, Broken Hill and elsewhere. Amid difficulties getting doctors out to the bush and remote communities, more than $1 billion will be invested to build hospitals, reduce overdue surgeries and set up new targeted programs. These include a new hospital in Gunnedah and a state-wide mental health infrastructure program to boost in-patient services. About $1 billion will be splashed to build four special business precincts in Parkes, Moree, Wagga Wagga and Snowy Mountains that play to each region's strengths, from freight and logistics to horticulture.
The Guardian
25-05-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
‘Desolate': farmers in NSW's west battle drought as east coast mops up after floods
While parts of Australia battle floods, farmers in the south are selling off stock, abandoning crops and pleading for help as drought deepens. Farmer Paul Manwaring has been living in the shadow of rain. The cattle breeder has watched for months as promising forecasts disappear, while the occasional shower creates patches of growth on the parched plains around Cootamundra, in south-western New South Wales. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'It's all green where a storm went through, but 200 metres down the road it's desolate,' Manwaring says. The region is in the grips of disaster, according to the NSW drought indicator, part of a large area lit up in orange on the map. Surrounding regions are also drying out, expected to slip into drought by mid-winter. '[The rain] keeps either going north or south of us and we just keep being in that shadow,' Manwaring says. After a hot summer, the mild and wet autumn break that farmers typically expect did not come. Scattered rain across parts of the district in recent days arrived too late – producers had already made tough decisions. Manwaring, who runs a small livestock operation, sold his sheep in spring in anticipation of the dry, figuring that a run of good seasons would turn. Others have had to pull up their crops, change their planting regimes or sell stock in a busy market, necessary moves that will affect farm incomes for years. 'Even when it does rain, it's going to take a while to grow feed for all the livestock,' Manwaring says. Much of southern Australia is in drought at the same time as the NSW Hunter and mid-north coast regions face a major flood emergency, with five months' rain falling there in two days. April rainfall has been well below average across much of Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW, eastern South Australia, and the west coast and interior of Western Australia, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's drought statement. Tasmania recorded its driest April in a decade, with falls 50% below the 40-year average. South Australia has also been hit particularly hard, with $2bn wiped from the state's economy after the worst harvest in 15 years. Cassie Oster, whose family runs a grazing and cropping operation at Jabuk, about 150km south-east of Adelaide, says producers on the marginal country are always prepared for dry conditions. But this drought is particularly brutal. 'We are at a point where we're like ... this is really scary,' Oster says. 'The decisions we're having to make are things that we've never been faced with before.' The family has sold off more than 1,000 sheep and abandoned several crops. Those kinds of decisions make it harder for farmers to buy back into the market after the drought breaks, when they are also likely to face higher costs of inputs, machinery and fuel. Drought conditions have been slowly creeping in since early 2023, mostly in regions with western-facing coastlines. Dry periods have been historically linked to the El Niño climate pattern, but Australian scientists have identified more nuance in what triggers low rainfall. Droughts develop when weather systems that lift and carry moisture from the ocean disappear, a recent scientific review found. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion That has been the case for months across the south, with slow-moving high pressure systems dominating and bringing warm and dry conditions with them. There has been a long-term shift towards drier conditions in southern Australia, according to the weather bureau's 2024 climate change report. As the dry takes hold and forecasts fail to offer any certainty, farming groups have been calling for greater drought awareness and support. Oster is one of many farmers backing a petition for a formal drought declaration to unlock emergency funds, something the SA government says it cannot do under a federal agreement. She said the national drought plan, which aims to make farmers financially self-reliant, is all very well in a typical scenario. Most farmers spend the good years preparing for the bad, but the last few seasons have made that nearly impossible. 'It's like no other drought we've ever seen,' Oster says. The Victorian Farmers Federation has urged politicians to spend more time in the regions. 'Mental health is a huge concern: when farmers feel isolated, unsupported and forgotten, the consequences can be devastating for individuals and entire communities,' president, Brett Hosking, says. Eileen Jorgensen, who has spent a lifetime farming in Victoria, has noticed growers becoming more open about the mental toll of drought. But distressed farmers talking to each other could only help for so long, she says. 'That is probably the darker side of the drought,' Jorgensen says, as looked out the window at her drying paddocks in the Wimmera region, in the state's west. The Jorgensens, who grow grain and raise sheep and Clydesdale horses, are able to keep their stock watered by the Wimmera Mallee pipeline that was built after successive droughts in the early 2000s. But others further south are having to cart water and source increasingly expensive stock feed. Jorgensen remains pragmatic, having grown up working in her father's market garden watching bad seasons come and go. 'You just know it's going to rain eventually,' she says. 'It may not be tomorrow, it may not be next month, but it will rain.' In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Photos show brutal contrast across Australia as BoM predicts a wet winter for millions
As much of NSW picks up the pieces after yet another devastating and deadly flooding event, southern parts of the country continue to cry out to the heavens for rain. When it comes to Australia's increasingly turbulent weather, it's been a case of all or nothing for many residents. About 32,000 people on the NSW mid-north coast remain isolated by flood waters, according to the State Emergency Service. Thousands households are beginning the major clean up effort as floodwaters begin to recede after the deluge this past week. Five months worth of rain was dumped in a matter of days in some areas with crews still assessing the extent of the damage on Sunday. Taree resident Damian Newell says his rental home now resembles a rubbish dump. And because of the "ridiculous" cost of home and contents insurance, much of their belongings are now gone. Some 600 kilometres away in the southwest of the state, it's a different story. But perhaps an equally painful one. Farmer Paul Manwaring has been living in the shadow of rain, watching promising forecasts disappear, while the occasional shower creates patches of growth on the parched plains around Cootamundra, a seven hour drive from flood zones. "It's all green where a storm went through, but 200 metres down the road it's desolate," Mr Manwaring told AAP over the weekend. The region is in the grips of disaster, according to the NSW drought indicator, part of a large area lit up in orange on the map. Surrounding regions are also drying out, expected to slip into drought by mid-winter. Parts of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania have endured their driest start to a year on record. April rainfall has been well below average across much of the three states, as well as southern NSW, and the west coast and interior of WA, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's drought statement. Tasmania recorded its driest April in a decade, with falls 50 per cent below the 40-year average for the month. South Australia has also been hit particularly hard, with $2 billion wiped from the state's economy after the worst harvest in 15 years. Cassie Oster, whose family runs a grazing and cropping operation at Jabuk, about 150km southeast of Adelaide, says producers are always prepared for dry conditions, but this drought is particularly brutal. "We are at a point where we're like ... this is really scary," she told AAP. According to the Bureau of Meteorology's long-range forecasts updated this week, the climate outlook for June through to September will see southeast parts of the country experience higher than average rainfall, including areas that have been lashed by floods. "Rainfall is likely to be above average for much of inland Australia and some southern and eastern parts ... including the Northern Rivers region of NSW," the BoM said, meaning farmers like Paul Manwaring in Cootamundra could enjoy a slight reprieve. Rainfall is expected to be within the typical range for June to August for much of western WA and eastern Australia, and across the tropical north, according to the Bureau's outlook. But the bad news will likely continue for drought affected areas in the south with a 60 to 80 per cent chance southern Victoria will experience below average rainfall in the months ahead. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
