Council invites community to have a say

Gunnedah Shire Council is asking for community feedback through two separate surveys – one regarding the shire’s 10-year waste strategy while the other gives residents the opportunity to have their say on the future of the Hunter New England Health District.

The Gunnedah Rural Waste Services Survey, produced by ASK Waste Management in collaboration with the Gunnedah Shire Council, will help guide consultation for the Waste Management Strategy and Rural Waste Facilities Study project.

Council has engaged ASK Waste Management to develop its Waste Management Strategy with the key aims of the project to develop a 10-year Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy, evaluate current facilities, and recommend future actions aligned with the NSW Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy and Council’s Community Strategic Plan.

The project will be completed in four stages and a ‘coffee table’ summary will be created for public exhibition and feedback.

Council currently operates its main site, the Gunnedah Waste Management Facility, and several other smaller, rural waste facilities. It also provides a three-bin or two-bin kerbside service to most residents except for some rural properties that are required to self-haul their waste to council facilities.

The survey will still be accessible until early next week and can be accessed via the council’s website or printed copies can be obtained from council’s customer service team at the Elgin St office.

The Gunnedah shire community is also being asked to have their say about a proposed bill to split the Hunter New England Health District into two separate districts.

Gunnedah Shire mayor Colleen Fuller said the region had faced its share of challenges with health services, with a general practitioner shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the disappointing downscaling of the new hospital.

“In 2004, two health districts were combined to form the Hunter New England Health District,” Cr Fuller said.

“It is the largest health district in New South Wales and includes a population of close to one million people.

“I am advised it is the only rural health district that is administered from a metropolitan base.

“Gunnedah Shire Council intends to put in a submission to NSW Parliament about the Splitting of the Hunter New England Health District Bill, but we are also giving the community the opportunity to tell us their own thoughts and experiences. Unfortunately, there is only a short window of time here, so we urge people to take a look and have their say.”

The Gunnedah Shire Council survey about the Health Services Amendment (Splitting of the Hunter New England Health District) Bill 2025 is available through Gunnedah Shire Council’s website.

The survey will close at midnight on Sunday, March 30.

People and organisations who would like to learn more about the bill or put in their own submissions can do so through the Parliament of NSW’s website. Submissions will close on April, 17.