Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has allocated $5000 for Regional Cities NSW membership from January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019.

Mayor Peta Pinson said if the council didn’t involve itself in the alliance, it would be on the outer with those powerhouses which were moving forward.

She said the alliance was a really good way of working with other large regional councils.

Wagga Wagga, Tweed, Coffs Harbour, Orange, Lismore and Albury are among the 16 councils invited to join Regional Cities NSW.

A minimum of nine councils will be needed to establish the group.

The alliance of regional cities will be dedicated to achieving real change in regional NSW through policy development and active implementation of the policies.

Cr Rob Turner voted against the council joining Regional Cities NSW.

Cr Turner said the council would be better off working on what individual communities needed in our local government area.

Deputy mayor Lisa Intemann agreed the council needed to focus on our area but said she was also mindful there were some intractable problems they were dealing with.

“I see this as the potential to flex our muscle with other places that are similar to us and address some of the really entrenched difficulties,” she said.

Cr Geoff Hawkins said the alliance would give the council a chance to eyeball the Premier and senior ministers from time to time, and although each area was unique, they also had a lot in common.

The council’s $5000 membership allocation is drawn from the reserve containing the remaining funding from the Mid North Coast Regional Organisation of Councils after the council’s recent resignation from the group.

The council will review its Regional Cities NSW membership within the first 24 months to ensure the group is meeting its stated objectives.

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