Protestors outside of the Harden Country Club this morning before the commencement of the Harden public Inquiry into the Harden, Boorowa, Young merger proposal.
The Harden Public Inquiry into the Harden, Boorowa and Young amalgamation proposal at the Harden Country Club heard a total of 46 speakers make 3 minute presentations before an audience of over 500 people.
40 out of the 46 speakers stated that they were against the Harden, Boorowa and Young proposal, and were in favour of the amalgamation of the Harden and Cootamundra Shire Councils. Speakers included Harden Shire Council Mayor John Horton, Assistant General Manager Trevor Drowley and Cootamundra Shire Council Deputy Mayor Dennis Palmer, Cootamundra Councillor Rosalind Wight, Harden Shire Councillors Tony Flanery, Matthew Stadtmiller and Chris Manchester, Kruger Trust Chairman Jim Wright, amongst many others. Member for Cootamundra, Katrina Hodgkinson, also spoke in favour of the voluntary merger proposals of Cootamundra-Harden, and Boorowa-Young.
Assistant General Manager Drowley brought up a procedural issue with the Delegate, Amanda Chadwick, questioning why speakers where given five minutes to speak at Young and Boorowa, and only three minutes at Harden. Chadwick stated that there was a legislative issue if the Inquiry ran past 12:00pm, and that a lot of speakers needed to be accommodated.
Drowley, in his presentation, asked for a show of hands in favour of the Harden- Cootamundra proposal. A clear majority raised their hands, and only nine raised their hands against Harden-Cootamundra and in favour of Harden, Boorowa and Young.
One speaker spoke about the human impact of the decisions being made, and that “we are all in this together.”
With consideration to the prevailing mood of the room, four brave souls spoke in favour of the Harden, Boorowa, Young amalgamation, which included representatives of Hilltops Harvest Incorporated, as well as Young Shire Councillor, Brian Mullany. The tourism and marketing benefits of a Hilltops Council were seen to be substantial, especially given the region’s shared interest in benefitting from its proximity to Canberra.
Former Shire President of Harden Shire Council, Pat Brown, said that he didn’t agree with amalgamations, and that it was fair enough for Councils in the suburbs of Sydney. He was involved in the amalgamation of Murrumburrah and Demondrille Municipal Councils when they merged to create Harden Shire Council in 1974.
The Delegate, Amanda Chadwick, ended the Inquiry at 11:37 am, and thanked the Harden Library for helping those register for the Inquiry. She also said that her report to the Boundaries Commission will be published online for everyone to read.
Written submissions are still open to the Boundary Commission, and close on February 28 at 5:00pm. They can be made by post to:
Council Boundary Review
GPO Box 5341
Sydney NSW 2001
Or online at: https://www.councilboundaryreview.nsw.gov.au/proposals/boorowa-harden-shire-and-young-shire-councils/
More to come in next week’s issue of the Twin Town Times.