Residents speak with Moree Plains Shire councillors and senior staff during Council’s second Community Q&A at the Max Centre on Wednesday evening. Photo: Moree Online News.
Moree Plains residents brought a broad mix of concerns to councillors and senior staff when Council opened the floor for its second Community Q&A on Wednesday evening.
The informal session at the Max Centre began with an opportunity for residents to speak individually with Council directors before moving into an open forum. Roads, flood recovery and Moree’s swimming facilities featured strongly, alongside questions about major projects and everyday issues across the shire.
Roads and flood recovery
Road conditions and the 2022 flood recovery program took up a considerable part of the evening, with residents raising gravel sourcing, local gravel pits and the way recovery works are being managed.
Questions were raised about gravel being carted long distances for some projects when local sources were available. The conversation covered the use of Council gravel pits, requirements around respirable crystalline silica and the sourcing of material for contracted works, with differing accounts given about why gravel had come from further away for particular projects.
Residents also questioned the limits placed on road repairs under disaster recovery funding. Watercourse Road was among the examples raised, with questions about why other sections could not be repaired while contractors and machinery were already working nearby.
Council staff said the funding is tied to documented flood damage and restoring that damage to its pre-disaster condition. Mayor Susannah Pearse said Council was seeking greater flexibility in how the money could be used. Five tenders for the next round of flood repair works were also under assessment.
Pool and Taylor Oval
The future of Moree’s swimming facilities was another major part of the open forum, including the proposed 50-metre pool at Taylor Oval and the future of the Moree Artesian Aquatic Centre (MAAC).
Residents questioned the consultation process around Taylor Oval and how the site had become Council’s preferred direction for the new pool. Cr Pearse acknowledged there had been lessons from the process and said there were things she would have done differently with hindsight.
Questions about the two sites covered the condition and future of the MAAC, access to artesian water and how separate facilities might work in practice. Council representatives said planning was continuing at Taylor Oval while further investigations were carried out at the existing aquatic centre.
Aboriginal cultural heritage investigations at Taylor Oval were also raised. Cr Pearse said Council was working through a Heritage NSW process involving consultation with registered Aboriginal parties and Elders, with the findings potentially influencing where facilities could be located on the site.
Inland Rail and the Special Activation Precinct
Inland Rail had come up in conversations around the room before the open forum, prompting an update on the project and its future through the Moree Plains.
Cr Pearse said Council was working with the Australian Rail Track Corporation towards a business case for upgrading a section of railway through the shire that remains at a lower capacity than upgraded sections of the Inland Rail route. She also referred to discussions with Everald Compton and GreenLink Australia about its rail proposal.
The Moree Special Activation Precinct was also raised, including what changes to Inland Rail could mean for the project. Council representatives said the precinct was expected to proceed in stages, with the first stage covering about 100 hectares.
From road priorities to the saleyards
The open forum also gave residents the chance to raise a range of other local matters.
Council’s proposed road hierarchy was questioned, including whether the rankings of some rural roads reflected how they were being used. Access to Council consultation material also came up, with concern raised about residents who rely on printed information rather than websites and social media.
The future of the Moree saleyards, parking in the CBD, after-hours reporting of roaming dogs and a wet area around the newer Amaroo playground were among the other issues brought to the floor.
Wednesday’s Q&A was the second held under the trial format, which Council introduced as a less formal alternative to its previous public forums and a way for residents to speak directly with councillors and staff.
The latest session was held in the evening following feedback that the daytime timing of the first Q&A did not suit everyone.
