Coffs Harbour City Council on New South Wales’ northern coast is to form a Sister City/Country Council relationship with Kyogle Council as a way of sharing expertise, experience and resources.
Kyogle, which is promoted as the ‘Gateway to the Rainforests’, is located 184 kilometres south of Brisbane in the northern rivers region of New South Wales.
Coffs Harbour Mayor, Councillor Keith Rhoades, said Coffs Harbour has the professional capacity and resources consistent with being a major regional centre.
“As such, we are in a position to offer a great deal of assistance to a rural Council,” he said. “In recent years, we have been involved with many innovative and ground breaking water supply and waste management projects that have given staff immense opportunities to gain knowledge and skills that would be valuable to other Councils. I’m also sure that such a relationship would be a productive two way street and we will also benefit from the expertise at Kyogle Council.
“There’s only one winner in this and that’s Local Government and the people we serve.”
Coffs Harbour and Kyogle Councils have a number of areas of mutual interest, including human resources, governance and internal audits, lands, regional and National Parks, geographic information systems and information technology.
Coffs Harbour General Manager, Stephen Sawtell, said taking a regional, strategic approach to Local Government has proved to be a major benefit to the Coffs Harbour community.
“We have been a leader in this area through a range of partnerships and alliances, including the Regional Water Supply Project, the Coffs Coast Waste Strategy, Coffs Coast Marketing, the regional Geographic Information Systems strategy and joint policy development and purchasing strategies via the Mid North Coast Group of Councils,” he said. “I look forward to furthering our newest partnership with Kyogle.”
Kyogle Council services a population of about 12,000 people living in an area of 3,600 square kilometres. Its main centre, Kyogle, is home to around 3,000 residents.
Coffs Harbour City Council covers just under 1,200 square kilometres and has a population of approximately 68,000 people. Council is one of the biggest employers in the City, employing approximately 500 staff.
The two Councils are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in coming weeks.
