The Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA) Chairman and Temora Shire Mayor Rick Firman OAM have described the recently announced cutbacks to Transport for NSW, the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and Bendigo Bank as impactful blows to rural, regional and remote communities.
Mayor Firman voiced concerns that regional commitment and regional development have become hollow catchphrases of political or marketing convenience, following the announcement of NSW Government job cuts and Bendigo Bank Agency closures in a barrage of blows to the bush.
Bendigo Bank has announced that it will close 28 agencies in October 2025, with a dozen of those being in rural NSW communities, with limited banking options.
“On behalf of the CMA Board and our Members I have written to the Bendigo Bank Chairman Mrs Vicki Carter, respectfully asking for an explanation.
Bendigo Bank presented itself as ‘different to the Big 4…’, emphasising it’s community that truly matters,” he said.
“As far as the CMA is concerned, actions speak louder than words and the agency closure decision suggests, on the surface, that their rural and regional commitment was hollow marketing, and that rural communities do not really matter.”
“Any withdrawal of services from our communities is a step backwards.
“Early this year, the Australian Government secured an agreed moratorium on bank branch closures with the ‘big four banks’ for two and a half years. This was a positive step for Federal Treasurer Mr Chalmers but the Bendigo Bank announcement illustrates how the focus was too narrow.
“It is a reduction of important services that the axing of 950 jobs from Transport for NSW would result in. Our members have worked closely with the Department in recent years, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters. We appreciate that unprecedented billion-dollar infrastructure repair costs have hit the State Government’s bottom line hard but cutting that many jobs in one foul sweep will have to reduce this critical Department’s capacities.”
The latest job cuts proposed by the NSW Government are within the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
The proposal is part of a restructuring for the regional-focused Department and could result in a four per cent workforce reduction, up to 165 positions. This week’s news follows the cutting of 100 DPIRD positions in April this year.
“We’re talking about redundancies in agriculture and biosecurity, regional development and the likes of the Rural Assistance Authority (RAA), as we understand it,” Mayor Firman said.
“The DPIRD and Transport for NSW are appropriately decentralised, so the CMA is not just concerned about the reduction of capacities and services in these departments but also human costs. These are not numbers but real people, with community ties and cutting them out of regional and rural locations will effect more than just those economies.
“This should be a time for investment in and support for regional and rural communities, particularly after harsh droughts, fires, floods and Covid-19 over the past decade.
“Out of courtesy and respect, I’ve reached out to the Secretary of the DPIRD, Mr Steve Orr. He indicated to me that there is to be no impact on frontline services and that no offices will be closed. Mr Orr further advised that the roles proposed to go are back-office duplications.” “The CMA appreciatesthat Mr Orr taking considerable time to explain what is behind the proposal, which he did not have to do.
“Our CMA Board members know how hard it is to manage budgets. All of our CMA Members have to be fiscally responsible. However, we would encourage our State Government to please always consider how much more deeply cuts are felt in the bush, and ensure these cuts are not thrust on our rural and regional communities,” Mayor Firman concluded
