February News from the Mayor

22 Feb 2018 11:20 AM -

Hi Everyone,

It was an honour to once again attend with my wife Julie the annual Leeton Shire Australia Day Celebrations in the beautiful Mountford Park. Our Australia Day Ambassador this year, Mr Brian Debus, gave an inspiring address and was a pleasure to host. I would like to congratulate all award winners and thank the small but hardworking Australia Day Committee led by Deputy Mayor Cr George Weston for all of their efforts in supporting the organisation of this event.

Earlier this month I attended the Murray Darling Association Strategic Planning and Board Meeting in Albury. At this forum Board members throughout the entire Basin meet together to discuss some of the challenges associated with the Murray Darling Basin Plan. It is important that all Basin communities continue to work constructively to ensure the sustainability of the whole of the basin. Following the decision of the disallowance motion that got up in the Senate last week we now have a further challenge with NSW and Victoria State governments suggesting that they may pull out of the Basin Plan altogether.

Discussions about Joint Organisations (JO’s) have been a hot topic in recent weeks. Government wants to work with groups of Councils across ‘regions’ rather than individually. To get some good thinking happening, Leeton and Narrandera Shire Councils hosted a meeting last week for all Councils across the region. Our aim is to identify a community of interest for strategic planning purposes to ensure we get the best outcome for Leeton and the Western Riverina region. We will watch with interest what decisions neighbouring Councils make over the coming weeks.

It was great to see the interest of passionate residents in Yanco and Whitton at the recent Town Improvement Workshops. Lots of excellent ideas were generated. Now comes the task of prioritising (subject to costs and funding) and maintaining interaction with these communities to ensure positive outcomes are achieved.

There is a lot happening around Leeton Shire on the economic development front with the recent visit of Don Murray and Nick White (part of the NSW Infrastructure Team that reports to the Premier) who were in town to visit SunRice, Webster Ltd, Freedom Foods, Southern Cotton and Murray Cod Australia. They left impressed by the diversity, innovation and huge potential for growth in our region.

The highlight of the month for Julie and I was the launch of a new book titled “A Mother as Loving as You” written by Uncle Jimmy Ingram. As Mayor of Leeton Shire, the day was a fitting tribute in recognition of Uncle Jimmy and the work he has done over many years building relationships and keeping the local Wiradjuri culture alive.

Take care and best wishes until my March Update.

Kind Regards, Mayor Paul Maytom