FOLLOWING significant debate, Bathurst Regional Council has formally acknowledged that the region is facing changes to its weather and climate.
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Councillor Monica Morse had submitted a notice of motion to Wednesday's ordinary meeting of council.
The wording had been amended just prior to the meeting, with the motion councillors eventually voted on being that "Bathurst Regional Council acknowledges that current weather patterns are outside the normal because of a change in the climate and that council should continue its focus on improving energy efficiency, investigating other renewable energy opportunities in order to reduce costs and developing plans to provide new water sources and to drought proof the city in the future".
The motion narrowly passed due to the support from councillors Morse, John Fry, Jess Jennings, Ian North and Jacqui Rudge.
Mayor Bobby Bourke and councillors Warren Aubin, Alex Christian and Graeme Hanger voted against it.
Prior to the meeting, Cr Morse was unsure of how the votes would stack up, but she was pleased to get enough support in the chamber.
"I was very pleased that it was passed. I think it shows that council takes all of this stuff with the climate and the weather seriously," she said.
During the debate, Cr Jennings said that council had nothing to lose by passing the motion, but there was a lot to gain.
He referenced climate predictions that have been made from CSIRO and Australian National University data, which say that by 2050 the winter season for the Bathurst region "disappears as we know it from the past".
"Summer doubles, October to April, and from December to February you get more extreme weather," Cr Jennings said.
"What about rainfall? You get 18 per cent less rainfall per year on average."
Cr Jennings said that, if the predictions are right and climate change is human-induced, then now is the time to do something about it.
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Some of those who were against the motion tended to feel that there was a cycle of drought and floods, and that Bathurst just happened to be in a state of drought now.
"At the moment, we're in a cycle. Yes it is dry, but I would suggest that the weather patterns are not necessarily changing - we'll get cool winters, nice springs, warm summers, we'll get autumn and then the winter will come again," Cr Hanger said.
"I'm suggesting that we don't need to worry about this terribly much."
When Cr Morse spoke about the reason behind the notice of motion, she said in part it was about acknowledging and supporting the work council staff are doing.
Cr Aubin said that, as the work was being done, it wasn't necessary to pass the motion she had put forward.
While not everyone agreed with her and the debate had been divisive, Cr Morse was pleased that the majority supported her.
"I thought it was a good discussion and a timely one to have and I was very happy to see that we came out supporting the council staff in what they are doing, and that was what I wanted," she said.
Another notice of motion was also up for debate, submitted by Cr Fry, who wanted to see Bathurst declared in a state of water emergency.
His motion failed after five councillors (Aubin, Bourke, Christian, Hanger and North) voted against it.
Their concern was largely around the use of the word "emergency", with Cr Aubin saying that accepting the motion would do nothing but "scaremonger".