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An outback council has voted to withdraw from the New South Wales peak body for local government, alleging it does not empathise with regional mining communities.
The move by the Broken Hill City Council, which has been part of Local Government NSW (LGNSW) for around 20 years, stems from an emotional debate at the organisation's annual state conference in Tamworth this month.
Councillor Michael Boland, a Broken Hill delegate to the LGNSW conference, said he had put forward a motion asking for the state government to pay for the remediation of land contaminated by mining.
He said he believed a Northern Beaches Council delegate suggested banning mining in NSW altogether, a claim she has denied.
"We know how important mining is to Broken Hill and a lot of council areas, and I was disappointed the debate went down that way," Cr Boland told the ABC after the conference.
"It came across as a complete [lack of] understanding of mining."
Michael Boland was a Broken Hill delegate at the LGNSW state conference earlier this month. (ABC Broken Hill: Youssef Saudie)
Councillor says she was misunderstood
The Northern Beaches councillor whom the Broken Hill Council believed spoke during the debate for Cr Boland's motion was Bonnie Harvey, a member of the Manly Greens.
Speaking to the ABC on Thursday, Cr Harvey said she spoke in favour of a proposed amendment that mining companies pay to remediate contaminated land, however, she was happy to see it further amended to put the onus on the state government if they failed to do so.
"I spoke about not desiring to continue to prop up an industry which is damaging our land, but in no way did I say there should be an end to mining," Cr Harvey said.
"I think Cr Boland and I would both agree that this land is in need of repair for the future of communities [and] everyone's wellbeing.
"The amendment I spoke to got voted down, but I was actually pleased [because] I think a more fair and reasonable amendment came out of that."
Bonnie Harvey says she wants mining-impacted land repaired but denies calling for an end to mining in NSW. (Supplied: Bonnie Harvey)
Cr Harvey also denied any claims that she and fellow Greens colleagues disrespected Cr Boland and said she was disappointed that any belief about that may have contributed to Broken Hill withdrawing from LGNSW.
"They're entitled to their own decision," she said.
"I think if they want to continue to advocate for the rights of regional [and] rural councils, they should continue to do so through the body, instead of leaving and [reducing] the amount of representation held by regional councils."
However, Cr Boland said it was equally concerning to hear the vast majority of motions and issues debated favoured metropolitan areas at the possible expense of regional communities.
No longer a united front
Broken Hill mayor Tom Kennedy said the council had also been promised support in a motion opposing the state government's proposed waste levy, but official correspondence came too late to make a difference.
This negative sentiment was shared almost universally in the council chambers at its November meeting, leading to a successful motion to withdraw from LGNSW immediately.
Broken Hill Mayor Tom Kennedy says LGNSW needed to support regional councils, not "target" them. (ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde)
"This motion's really to send a clear message to LGNSW and other councils that if you keep on targeting regional NSW, that affect councils like Broken Hill, you will not have a united voice in local government," Mr Kennedy said.
"[LGNSW] only just got the full quota of councils [in] the last year or so, they now don't have that [so] it's up to them to work to make sure that they get that majority back and the only way they can do that is by representing everyone."
It is understood the council's withdrawal is yet to come into effect, with an LGNSW spokesperson saying it would welcome a discussion about any issues the council felt they had.
Broken Hill councillor Darriea Turley will leave her current role as president of LGNSW if the withdrawal is made official.
However, Cr Turley said she was more concerned about the long-term impact on the council if it did not reconsider.
"A lot of our networks rely on LGNSW, we have a lot of support services for our staff, for our lobbying and also for how we work with government for the best outcome for council," she said.
"We [also] won't have anywhere to send our motions to conference.
"Every [Broken Hill] motion was endorsed at the conference this year [and] once that strength is lost, council will be on their own lobbying for change."
Darriea Turley will have to step down from her role as LGNSW president if Broken Hill Council's withdrawal is made official. (ABC News: Bill Ormonde)
Mr Kennedy argued there would be little to no consequences for the council and its ability to advocate to the state government.
"We pay $45,000 a year in memberships [and] probably the only thing that happens out of that is conferences, and once every four years, they're used [for] our wage negotiations," he said.
"You [saw] the Community Cabinet was [recently] out in Broken Hill, not talking to LGNSW, [but] Broken Hill ratepayers, Broken Hill Citizens and Broken Hill Council.
"[LGNSW] do not represent Broken Hill, they represent local government as a whole."