100 years of history ends as Cobar RLPB holds last meeting
Wednesday December 24, 2008
Cobar Rural Lands Protection Board directors Mark Johnson, Paul Evans, Geoffrey Langford, ranger Robert Neate, chairman Wayne Leigh, customer service officer Julie Wilkin, and directors Terry Dunne, Robert Hansen, and Marie Russell at last Friday’s final meeting ever of the board before it merges with Bourke, Brewarrina and Wanaaring boards. .
In what was described by directors as a “very sad” day, Cobar Rural Lands Protection Board (RLPB) held its last meeting ever last Friday.
The board will now merge with Wanaaring, Bourke and Brewarrina RLPBs as of January 1 under changes approved by the State Council of RLPB.
Long time director Geoffrey Langford, who also served on the former Pastures Protection Board until it was reformed in 1989, said Friday marked the end of more than 100 years of local representation of farmers.
“I am very, very upset to be here today at the last meeting,” he said.
Fellow director Terry Dunne said for him personally, he was sad with the uncertainty about the future of the Cobar RLPB office building.
“A lot of people who were on the board back in the 1960s had the foresight to get this building, which is owned by the ratepayers.
“There are so many loose ends,” Mr Dunne said.
“The new identity will take control of the building.”
Cobar RLPB chairman Wayne Leigh told The Cobar Weekly last Friday there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
“The office will still be here, but the hours are yet to be decided.
“We have been told we will still have a ranger,” Mr Leigh said.
A new interim board will take over the running of the new Darling Board until elections, which are expected to begin in March.
Mr Leigh will represent Cobar on the interim board.
The new Darling board will be made up of eight divisions, with a representative elected from each division.
Under the former structure, ratepayers voted for eight representatives in the Cobar region.
The new board structure allows ratepayers to vote for just one representative from their division.
“From the information we have been supplied with, it looks like we go from 72 directors back to 22 directors in the western division,” Mr Leigh said.
“It will be detrimental because services will drop and rates will go up, but for no better service,” he said.
Also in doubt is the future of the Cobar board’s current customer service officer.
“The customer service officer’s position will be up to the interim board to decide.
“It will probably be a lesser job than what it is now,” Mr Leigh said.
Mr Leigh said the changes will mean “a whole new identity” for the representation of rural landholders.
“A lot of people at this table believe this is a road to self destruction,” he said.
“This board, and the others in the Western Division, gave no indication they were in favour of these changes.
“We have been completely misrepresented by state council,” Mr Leigh said.
“This is not democratic and I didn’t think it would ever happen,” Mr Dunne said.
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