PAIRING with a bigger city while at the same time joining forces with somewhere that has similar interests is the idea behind a recent decision from Leeton Shire Council.
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Council has informed the NSW Minister for Local Government it will join a new Joint Organisation (JO) comprising of Wagga Wagga City Council, Narrandera Shire Council, Snowy Valleys Council and any other council in the Riverina Murray Planning region which resolves to join the new JO.
The principal functions of JOs will be strategic planning and priority setting,intergovernmental collaboration, and regional leadership and advocacy.
It is believed those councils who join a JO will be looked upon favourably when it comes to funding and support from the state government.
Mayor Paul Maytom is comfortable to give these new partnerships a go stating that, regionally, Leeton’s greatest priorities are water security, freight efficiencies, education/training and health.
“It’s for these reasons that Council is looking to collaborate with others who have a similar focus and share common issues,” he said.
“When you look at the stats Leeton, Tumut, Wagga (and Griffith) are endowed with significant manufacturing and freight activity is still in growth phase - it makes good sense to collaborate as a group of councils on related infrastructure priorities for the region.
“Secondly, water policy, whether state or federally driven, needs a collective response from all council areas being supplied from the Murrumbidgee River. Taking a holistic approach right from the source, Burrinjuck Dam, is essential.
“Lastly, we are increasingly looking to redirect freight from road to rail and the reality is the railway line goes east before it heads south.”
Other councils associated with the Murrumbidgee River and Wagga are invited to join Leeton, Wagga and Narrandera who have now all formally resolved to embark on the new “east west” configuration for strategic planning and advocacy purposes.
At this stage Griffith has resolved to be in a different JO, but councillor Maytom said Leeton shire will continue to work closely with them.
“Leeton and Griffith are committed to continuing a constructive and productive working relationship regardless of JO boundaries,” he said.
“We are in many ways ‘joined at the hip’ and acknowledge Griffith as our main centre to our west.”
