CRIES of “Go Oberon!” rang out as a rowdy crowd of more than 200 made its feelings clear yesterday about the town’s proposed merger with Bathurst Regional Council.
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Yesterday’s public inquiry meeting, held at Oberon Showground, was the opportunity for residents to speak directly to the delegate appointed by the NSW Government to provide a report on the amalgamation.
And the message was clear: Oberon wants to be left alone.
“We are completely different places,” Oberon Anti Amalgamation committee’s Marjorie Armstrong said.
“Bathurst is a city, Oberon is a thriving country town.”
She said her concern was that if the amalgamation took place, Oberon would not have enough voters to ensure it had a local representative on the new council.
“We demand a democratic right to have a say in what happens in our community,” she said.
Many speakers spoke of their distrust of the process and of Minister for Local Government – and Member for Bathurst – Paul Toole.
Oberon’s Col Roberts said he was disappointed the minister had not visited Oberon and spoken to the community about the proposed merger.
“Will Paul Toole ever be welcome to Oberon again? Can the people of Oberon ever trust him again?” he asked, to be answered by shouts of “no!” from the crowd.
The public inquiry meetings are the next step in the NSW Government’s controversial suite of reforms for local government, which includes recommended mergers throughout the state.
Each council affected by a proposed merger has been assigned a delegate, and councils have been encouraged to give their feedback to the delegates through public meetings which will be held across the state throughout this month.
Mr Toole will then consider delegates’ reports and information from the Boundaries Commission to make his final decision on the mergers.
The Oberon/Bathurst merger’s delegate, Renata Brooks, heard from 83 speakers at yesterday’s meeting.
Speakers ranged from farmers, business owners and retirees to teenagers.
A spokesperson for Mr Toole said the minister encouraged people in all areas affected by proposed mergers to come forward to have their say.
The spokesperson said Mr Toole would not attend any public inquiry meetings because it was important that people were given the opportunity to share their concerns with the independent delegate.
