November Council Meeting Recap

Published on 29 November 2022

Yesterday’s Council meeting began with the noting of the resignation of Sue Abbott as Councillor of the Upper Hunter Shire Council. Sue commenced her role as Councillor after being elected at the September 2016 Local Government elections. Council thanks Sue for her contributions to the Community and wishes her and her family all the best for the future. Advice of the resignation has been provided to the Electoral Commission and they are coordinating the process of electing a Councillor to fill the vacancy.

Councillors also considered the nominations for Australia Day awards for the Upper Hunter Shire, after recommendations were made by the various Australia Day sub-committees. Councillors also endorsed the recommendation held by sub-committees to hold two major Australia Day events, located in Merriwa and Scone.

Scone Neighbourhood Resource Centre (SNRC) also gave a presentation outlining their planned activities for 2022/2024.  Council has continued to support the SNRC over many years either through joint initiatives, funding assistance (donations) for events and programs or through in-kind support. The SNRC continues to provide a significant range of programs and events to the community along with many other community services that may otherwise fall on other organisations and/or Council should the SNRC not exist. Organisations such as the SNRC are therefore considered an invaluable resource and an important contributor to the community’s wellbeing.

Councillors adopted a range of polices at last night’s meeting. These included:

It is also recommended that the review period for policies adopted within the last 12 months be amended to four (4) years to align with the election cycle and allow each new Council to review policies once in their term.

Councillors also endorsed requests for donations from Aberdeen Lions Club, Scone Tidy Towns, Murrurundi Land Care and Koori Kids.