A vote of no confidence in the Member for Cootamundra, Katrina Hodgkinson, was moved and passed unanimously at a public meeting at the Mechanic’s Institute Hall on this evening. The meeting also resulted in a motion from the floor being passed that Council move forward with the Harden-Cootamundra proposal.
More than 320 people attended the meeting, which was convened by Harden Shire Council Mayor, John Horton, and Assistant General Manager, Trevor Drowley.
President of the Harden-Murrumburrah Chamber of Commerce, Hilton Doberer, proposed a motion from the floor of no confidence in Member for Cootamundra, Katrina Hodgkinson.
A show of hands indicated a sheer majority, and Drowley did not ask for a show hands for the ‘no’.
“Who was against?” asked Ross Flanery from the front. Not a single hand went up. “It looks pretty unanimous to me.”
“I have declared it a unanimous vote,” said Drowley.
The motion was made due to the perception that Hodgkinson had not supported Harden and Cootamundra throughout the process, and was preceded by statements from multiple members of the community and Council regarding her conduct.
“We had support right up until the final lodgement. Then something changed,” said Drowley. “[Member for Goulburn] Prue Goward, had the ear of the government for Boorowa. Hodgkinson did not have the government’s ear and is no longer in Cabinet.”
But this perspective was met with scepticism by some.
“Katrina let us down and did nothing to support us,” said Councillor Tony Flanery. “Make your vote count, not because they are making hard decisions, but because they lied to us.”
Mayor Horton also weighed in, describing how after a meeting with Hodgkinson, where she had said she always supported the Cootamundra-Harden merger, Horton had asked her to provide a letter of support to send in with Council’s submission to the Boundary Commission. “Katrina said no, because the money [$25 million] would be off the table,” he said. “I spoke to an advisor to Paul Toole [Minister for Local Government], Corin Moffat, who told me that was rubbish.”
“She did say that the Government had passed that alternate proposals were not liable to receive the extra funding. But she suggested that we put in a Harden, Cootamundra and Gundagai proposal,” he added.
Peter Orr then moved a motion from the floor that Council move forward with the plan to put in that proposal. It passed with all but one vote against it. “If we get a community meeting to endorse that action, it gets a lot of weight off their [Council’s] shoulders,” he said after the meeting.
Both the Mayor and Acting General Manager spoke of the importance of attending the Public Inquiry at the Harden Country Club on Friday from 9:00am to 12:00pm.
“I encourage as many people as possible to attend,” said Drowley. “Weight of numbers is important. According to the Local Government Act, the attitude of residents and ratepayers has to be taken into account.”
“This our last shot to make the NSW government take notice of Harden,” said Mayor Horton. “We want change for growth. We don’t want change for the sake of change.”
“We are not in favour of forced amalgamations!”
Although registrations to speak at the Inquiry are now closed, registration to attend the meeting has not. Registration closes at 9:00am this Thursday, and can be done by phone on 1300 813 020, or online at www.councilboundaryreview.nsw.gov.au. Sharon Hawkins at the Harden Library is available to assist in registration if anyone requires it, and there is a possibility that people who have not registered to speak may be able to speak towards the end of the meeting.
The deadline for written submissions, however, does not close until 5:00pm, February 28. “Written submissions are perhaps more valuable,” said Drowley. A template is available for written submissions, and anyone interested in acquiring one should visit or contact Harden Shire Council.
The turnout to the meeting itself was impressive, although there was some disappointment that more younger people did not attend. Regardless, the Mayor was thankful.
“This is what I expected from a community that loves their shire so much,” he said.
