From the Mayor’s Desk – 17 March 2025

Published on 17 March 2025

Goondiwindi CBD Streetscape Project – preliminary design progresses

The Goondiwindi CBD Streetscape Project is a multi-stage long-term plan that will guide future Council works to modernise the town centre and maintain it as a vibrant, welcoming, and sustainable place that both supports local businesses and serves the needs of the community.

A concept design has already been developed with input from residents, and Council remains committed to engaging key stakeholders throughout the preliminary design process.

Following a recent call for expressions of interest from Goondiwindi CBD business and property owners, an advisory committee has now been appointed. This committee will participate in presentations and discussions surrounding the preliminary design. While it is not a decision-making body, it will provide valuable feedback to help guide Council’s decisions and act as a liaison between Council and other CBD stakeholders. A large number of impressive and highly qualified locals put their names forward for consideration to be part of the advisory committee. Council expresses its gratitude to them and looks forward to their ongoing broader input as the design takes place.

Over the next six months, residents will also have the opportunity to help shape the future of our main street through continued consultation. This is an exciting project for the future of our region, and I look forward to providing further updates as it progresses.

Texas residents urged to engage in solar project consultation

I met with the Texas Solar Farm community consultation team last week during my regular working visit to Texas. I want to strongly encourage residents to actively participate in the community consultation for this project. The proposed solar farm is intended to be built just south of the border.

If the New South Wales Government approves this project, Council will be doing all it can to maximise its benefits to the community and minimise any potential impact to our local community, such as housing and workforce as well as community infrastructure. We’ve seen examples across the country where similar projects were rolled out quickly, causing short-term disruption with limited long-term benefits to the affected communities. I therefore wish to thank the proponents for their proactive willingness to work with Council and the Texas community. This is a crucial time to understand if and how this project (if approved by NSW) may affect you – and to have your say.

Pool closure dates: last weeks of swim season

The end of the summer swim season is fast approaching. The Goondiwindi and Texas pools will close on Monday, 31 March, with Inglewood to shut on Friday, 4 April.

It’s been yet another great season for our region’s pools, and I want to thank our operators for the wonderful work they do in serving local swim clubs, schools, residents and visitors alike. As well as bringing all the health benefits of sport and recreation, our public pools are so important for developing swim skills in our children, in particular. This Council made an investment of $1.87 million towards maintaining and upgrading our three regional pools and sporting facilities for 2024-25, which included over $200,000 towards replacing the Goondiwindi wading pool filtration system as well as $8,000 towards supporting our small schools to access pools for swimming lessons.

Goondiwindi Airport master plan is 20-year strategy

Council is currently developing a critical master plan for the Goondiwindi Airport Precinct area, including both the Council-owned land and neighbouring private property. The airport is an

important strategic asset for our region, supporting emergency services like the RFDS and serving regional businesses.

This will be a 20-year strategy that plans for the future and focuses on growth, with an expected increase in private and business aviation (although I wish to stress that evidence does not currently support a commercially operated airline in Goondiwindi). The airport will also likely see increased activity once Inland Rail receives final approval, as it is expected to become a hub for a significant Fly-In Fly-Out (FIFO) workforce.

I look forward to providing further updates to the community as information becomes available.

Macintyre Ag Alliance gala dinner success

Cr Susie Kelly and I were delighted to attend the Macintyre Ag Alliance’s fundraising gala night last week, as part of their two-day ANZ Agribusiness Summit. The dinner raised money for Variety the Children's Charity, an extremely worthwhile cause. Congratulations to ‘Mac Ag’ on the success of the evening, and a big thank you to the generous local sponsors who helped make both the field day and conference possible. Mac Ag is a fantastic group of local farmers and businesses who, as innovators, are keeping our major local industry at the cutting edge.

Cyclone uncertainty brings disappointing rainfall to region

Many in our region would have been looking to last fortnight’s tropical cyclone system for some much-needed rain and, unfortunately, would have been disappointed with the amount we ultimately received. Farming is a constant reminder that you never know how much rain you’ll get until it’s in the gauge.

I wish to thank all the Council staff who were vigilant in monitoring the unfolding situation and undertaking all the necessary preparations for our community. As I constantly say, we can’t control the weather, but we can control our preparation. Hopefully, it’ll be our turn with the next system.

Update: Texas Council meeting rescheduled

I made a commitment upon becoming Mayor to hold at least one of our monthly meetings in both Texas and Inglewood each year. I wish to inform residents that the upcoming Texas date has now been moved to 23 April at the Texas Memorial Hall.

This meeting is open to all Texas residents, and I encourage you to attend.