“What we want is nothing more than equity”

Country Mayors respond to demand

The Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA) Executive Board has responded to the growing demand the representative body faced in 2024, with its’ rural and regional advocacy increasingly sought after for Government inquiries and reviews. CMA Chairman and Temora Shire Mayor Cr. Rick Firman OAM announced the establishment of a Policy Advisor role in the CMA.

“Julie Briggs Management Services (JBMS) is a regionally-based management consultancy located in Wagga Wagga. Mrs. Briggs is a lawyer by profession and has over 30 years of experience with Local Government matters,” he said.

Over the last ten years JBMS has managed a diverse range of projects including initiatives funded federally through AusIndustry, Department of Climate and Heritage, on a State level by NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), the Department of Environment and Conservation, Resource NSW and the Department of Local Government and regionally through the Riverina Regional Development Board, the Riverina Area Consultative Committee, Albury-Wodonga Area Consultative Committee and the Riverina Eastern Regional Organisation of Councils (REROC).

“I am excited to join the CMA in the new Policy Advisor role. The CMA is a strong and consequential voice for rural, remote and regional communities across NSW and the work they do is vitally important,” Mrs. Briggs said.

“I am really looking forward to using the skills and knowledge I have developed in my many years as CEO of the Riverina Eastern Regional Organisation of Councils (REROC) to assist the CMA to achieve its representative agenda,” she said.

“As Chairman of REROC, I worked closely with Mrs. Briggs. When it comes to writing representative, data-driven submissions, she is the best I have encountered,” Mayor Firman said.

“The increasing workload of the CMA is something we are proud of,” he said. “We are bipartisan and have maintained a positive working relationship with NSW and Australian Governments. So, when they seek our input through an invitation to submit to an inquiry, it is welcome, however we must have the resources to gather insights from our members and articulate them in an authoritative document.”

“When the CMA contributes a submission to a Government inquiry, there’s a lot of work involved. Our Secretariat Mr. Gary Fry was spread too thin, when he also managed the CMA and organised its functions in 2024. Documents created last year can be found on our website: Publications – The Country Mayors Association of NSW Inc. Our submission to the NSW Government Inquiry into Historical development consents [Zombie DA’s]​ was a good example of country NSW insights we provide Government, through gathering grassroots examples from rural and regional Mayors. We eagerly await an outcome from that inquiry. Mrs. Briggs will build upon that and free up the Secretariat to focus on core responsibilities,” Mayor Firman said.

“Mrs. Briggs will hit the ground running, with the Report from the Review of the NSW Reconstruction Authority Act (among others) currently in her sights,” he said. “We extend a warm CMA welcome to Mrs. Briggs and look forward to working with her.”

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