SHADOW treasurer Chris Bowen has thrown his weight behind local hopes of having a special $2 coin minted to mark Bathurst’s bicentenary.
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Councillor Jess Jennings has raised the issue a number of times in Bathurst Regional Council, but has won little support inside the chamber.
Mayor Gary Rush has previously told the Western Advocate that council made initial inquiries with The Mint in Canberra, but were advised there was not enough time to produce the commemorative coin.
He also brushed off suggestions from Cr Jennings that council approach the prime minister’s office to see if he might push Bathurst’s case, saying council wanted all correspondence with the MP “to be as meaningful as we can” in the lead-up to the bicentenary.
But, Cr Jennings has refused to accept “no means no”, and has enlisted the support of one of the federal opposition’s most senior members.
Mr Bowen has penned a letter to Treasurer Joe Hockey asking him to back Bathurst’s plans for its own $2 coin, saying Bathurst holds a unique place as Australia’s first inland European settlement.
“I write to encourage you to make a request of the Royal Australian Mint to issue a commemorative two-dollar coin in celebration of Bathurst’s 2015 bicentennial,” he wrote.
“... Bathurst has, and continues to play, a tangible, pivotal and symbolic role in Australia’s economic, social and cultural development.
“A commemorative two-dollar coin seems like and ideal way to mark such achievements and elevate Bathurst’s status in the collective mind of all Australians as a town of national importance.”
Cr Jennings said he approached Mr Bowen to ask what process should be followed to make a request for a specially minted coin.
“Mr Bowen said plain and simple that any request should go to the Treasurer Joe Hockey because he is the minister responsible for the Royal Australian Mint,” Cr Jennings said.
He said he “strongly agrees” with Mayor Rush on most things to do with the bicentenary, except “not having a decent street parade” and “not pursuing a commemorative $2 coin in earnest”.
“I don’t know that Gary has thought through the immense value of a minted commemorative coin in Australian circulation, and how much exposure it would afford Bathurst.”