Snowy Valleys Mayor Julia Ham and NSW Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig.
The overwhelming success of Saturday’s Snowy Valleys Council demerger referendum will likely prompt immediate calls from Harden residents and several Hilltops councillors for the same process to be followed in the Hilltops local government area.
Snowy Valleys residents voted 86.8 per cent in favour of splitting back into Tumut Shire and Tumbarumba Shire councils on 29 November 2025, with 7,614 “Yes” votes against 1,149 “No” from a turnout of 84.7 per cent.
NSW Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig has confirmed the demerger will proceed, with the two new councils expected to be operational by 1 July 2027 and elections in September 2028.
Councillors Stadtmiller and Ingram have been highly public in their statements about the need for a demerger. Stadtmiller not wavering in his opposition to the forceed mergers since they happened and being somewhat vindicated by the stances of CGRC (Coota and Gundagai) and Snowy Valleys (Tumut and Tumbarumba).
Below is just some of the timeline in the quest for demerger at Hilltops. The timeline of key Hilltops demerger attempts, all verified from council minutes and notices of motion, shows a pattern of growing but frustrated advocacy:
• 28 September 2021 – Cr Matthew Stadtmiller moves the first formal motion for an elector poll on demerger. Defeated 9–2 (only Stadtmiller and Cr Chris Manchester in favour). Source: Hilltops Council Ordinary Meeting Minutes, 28 Sep 2021.
• Mid-2022 – Informal community Facebook poll (referenced in council debate) returns 83 per cent support for demerger from more than 200 respondents. Source: Hilltops Council Ordinary Meeting, 27 July 2022 – Business Paper Item 17.2.
• 27 July 2022 – Stronger motion by then-Mayor Brian Ingram for a binding poll. Defeated 7–4. Source: Hilltops Council Ordinary Meeting Minutes, 27 July 2022.
• September 2024 – Four newly elected or re-elected councillors (including Cr Michelle Gallo and Cr Stadtmiller) campaign on revisiting demerger. Source: About Regional candidate profiles, 30 Sep 2024.
Then-Mayor Brian Ingram, who led the 2022 motions, described the merger as a “total failure” in a November 2022 column.
“If the council’s accumulated deficits of $50 million over the past six years and the decline in levels of service were to be used as indicators, you would have to assume that it has not worked, and you would be correct; it has been a total failure (in my opinion),” Cr Ingram wrote.
In an August 2022 column, he emphasised the democratic need for a vote: “As many of you know, I have served on Hilltops Council since amalgamation and have supported the amalgamation in the position of Mayor. The reason I say it is unfortunate that the motion was lost is that as a Councillor, it is my job to represent the community and I cannot ignore the feedback I receive from many residents saying that they want to re-establish their former Local Government Areas,” Cr Ingram said.
“What was being voted on at this meeting was not to demerge, but to simply find out what the majority of rate payers would prefer and to ensure that they have a say in their future.”
Cr Michelle Gallo, elected in September 2024 from Kingsvale near Harden, ran on a platform that included addressing demerger alongside roads, rates, finance, waste and responsible pet ownership.
While specific quotes from Cr Gallo on demerger post-election are limited, her campaign highlighted the issue as a key community challenge, and she has joined calls for a referendum in recent discussions.
In Snowy Valleys, the victory echoed similar frustrations with the 2016 merger. Doug Gee of Save Tumbarumba Shire said, “I’m still pinching myself over the result – outstanding and way better than we anticipated. Thank you to everyone who turned out and voted – you made this happen. This is a hard-earned victory for the entire Snowy Valleys community.”
Mayor Julia Ham added, “Everyone wants this, and they know it’s going to be tough, they know it’s going to be hard, and they know it’s not always going to be smooth, but … people will be a lot happier where they live.”
Former Mayor Ian Chaffey noted, “The government can sometimes make mistakes, and this was a big one.”
For Hilltops, where merger deficits commenced with $16 million loss in its first year and a loss every year except one year. Hilltops continues to struggle to keep pace with issues that the former Harden Shire would have been on top of with senior staff present in the township. Including fixing up to 27 windows in the local Mechanic’s Institute which is the twin town, town hall for a period of 9 months. They were eventually fixed through Councillor and Mayoral intervention.
A poll could unify the former shires or highlight divides, but advocates argue it’s essential for democracy and self determination.
As for the Snowy Valley, they can finally rejoice knowing after years of hard-work and dedication, they’ve finally got what they’ve craved all along, their voice being heard.
– Tully Potts
