It's important to have friends and Coonamble Shire Council has welcomed news that they will now be permitted to join the Far North West Joint Organisation of Councils (FNWJO).

Joint Organisations were created in 2017/2018, following amendments to the Local Government Act that created a basic operating framework for groups of councils to work together on shared issues and aspirations.

The former Orana Regional Organisation of Councils was disbanded and two or three smaller groups formed as Joint Organisations.

At the time, Coonamble Shire Councillors requested to join Bourke, Cobar and Walgett shires in the FNWJO and, despite the support from those shires, the then Minister for Local Government declined their request.

Coonamble was instead urged to join the Orana JO with Bogan (Nyngan), Gilgandra, Mid-Western (Mudgee), Narromine, Warren, and Warrumbungle shires.

Coonamble councillors voted not to join that group and, along with Brewarrina and Dubbo councils, remained outside the Joint Organisation network.

But with a new government comes new opportunities and this year a renewed approach was made.

The FNWJO members again supported Coonamble's entry into their group and, at their meeting on Wednesday 8 November, councillors were advised that the approval of the new Minister had been received.

"It's an exciting time," said Coonamble Mayor Tim Horan. ""They've been getting some good wins, I'm glad we're part of it.

"This is a formal structure that is recognised by all levels of government so as a group we can apply for funding and tackle projects we can't do on our own."

Veteran local government executive Ross Earl is currently the CEO of the Far North West JO.

"Coonamble's request was universally accepted and we're looking forward to it," he told the Coonamble Times. "At the moment we have only three member shires and often it helps to have more volume."

Mr Earl says there seems to be increased interest in joint organisations from both levels of government, who are looking for feedback on issues affecting regional councils.

Funding to achieve shared objectives is also a high priority and the FNWJO already has projects both in the pipeline and in the planning stages to benefit their members.

"We recently did a project with the EPA (Environment Protection Authority) on contaminated lands, like old service stations, across the three shires," he said. "That's now finished but there's no reason we can't use what we gained from that project for Coonamble.

"Another project we have, an historic hotels tour, could possibly be extended to Coonamble at a later date. The airline services have proved very beneficial for the area and we're looking for continuity of funding and retaining the connectivity for the outlying councils that it provides."

The JO has also secured major funding for projects focusing on issues from Net Zero emissions to the region's Drought Preparation strategies.

Cr Horan believes that Coonamble Shire has much in common with our northern and western neighbours.

"They're our family, our neighbours and our friends and we've been working with them for a long time," he said. "The cost of being in the JO is virtually nothing but time, and we can share ideas and put in for grants together.

"It's probably our strongest partnership."