Councils converge in Harden for mayoral summit

Mayors and general managers from all over the Cootamundra electorate gathered in Harden last Friday for a summit coordinated by local member Steph Cooke. Hilltops Council deputy mayor Tony Flanery and acting general manager Sarah Karaitiana were in attendance, with Temora, Weddin, Cowra, Bland, Coolamon, Cootamundra-Gundagai, Junee, Narrandera also represented. In the ninth instalment of the summit, Ms Cooke believes it to be an important forum for local government in the area. “It's an opportunity for me to bring together all of the mayors and general managers of the Cootamundra electorate to talk about the issues that are top of their list in terms of my advocacy for them in the NSW Parliament,” Ms Cooke said. "It's our second one for this year, and that was at the request of the mayors who felt it was really important to hear from both ministers and shadow ministers in terms of their vision for their portfolio areas as it impacts our local communities." It also provided the opportunity to discuss matters impacting communities across the electorate, with Ms Cooke’s role as Shadow Minister for Water. "A water treatment plant for Narrandera remains an absolute priority, closely followed by a new Boorowa pipeline,” she said. In the room were Shadow Minister for Health, Regional Health and Mental Health, Sarah Mitchell MLC and Shadow Minister for Agriculture and the Prevention of Regional Crime, Brendan Moylan MP. “Our rural and regional communities deserve access to great healthcare close to home, and it was good to be able to speak about some of the specifics and what is needed in these communities with the local government representatives,” Ms Mitchell said. "The issues down here are really the same issues in the northern end of New South Wales in terms of agriculture and farming,” Mr Moylan said. “That is the slow but sure deterioration of our research stations, our difficulties with water, and particularly the red and green tape that government is putting on our agricultural and farming sectors.”