Mayor and Deputy Mayor focus on Wallerawang Power site

Mayor Ray Thompson and Deputy Mayor Wayne McAndrew together with Council’s General Manager have in the last two weeks held a series of meetings with Senior NSW DPC Officers, and representatives of Energy Australia (EA) in an attempt to preserve some assets from demolition on the Wallerawang Power Station site that would be useful to prospective Business and Industrial start- ups and create employment in the LGA.

“The General Manager and myself met with senior executives of the Department of Premier and Cabinet and Treasury in Sydney on 1st November 2018 to relay Council’s strong preference for all relevant assets to remain on site and not be demolished as EA makes good on the site” said Mayor Ray Thompson.

“We understand that EA owns the asset and is possibly entertaining options for the site, however Lithgow Council must ensure the views and issues important to our community are made known to both Government and those corporate citizens who operate in our area and have committed to our community” said the Mayor.

“We were led to believe, some years ago by the NSW Government representatives of the day, that the Wallerawang Power site would be utilised in such a way to promote material benefits to our community by way of employment generation after the Wallerawang closedown, and it is now time to focus our influence in support of this” said Deputy Mayor Clr Wayne McAndrew.

“We reinforced this view strongly at a meeting with Senior Energy Australia Executives attended by myself, the Mayor and GM on the 8th November 2018, and hopefully they will be cognisant of the need to maintain relevant assets that will assist any future business activity at the site that has the potential to generate employment” said the Deputy Mayor.

“After the closure of the Station with the loss of 300 jobs four years ago, this is a further kick in the guts for our community” said the Deputy Mayor.