Incumbent chairperson, Craig Davies, the Mayor of Narromine, was elected unopposed as the Chairperson of the Alliance of Western Councils at a meeting in Dubbo recently.

The Alliance is made up of 13 regional councils including Walgett, Bogan, Warren, Gilgandra, Narromine, Bourke, Brewarrina, Cobar, Coonamble and Warrumbungle with a focus to promote local development and communicate concerns to stakeholders.

Mr Davies will hold the position until after next year's local government elections and said he was already in the process or organising next year's first meeting, scheduled for March.

"One of our immediate focusses is getting the School of Rural Medicine reinstated for our region," Mr Davies said. "The idea is for local students to be able to study at CSU in Dubbo and as part of their program will return to their local communities for several blocks of training. We are looking to involve several health industry stakeholders in our first meeting to discuss this."

Mr Davies said he had been in touch with Ryan Park, Minister for Health and Medical Research, Dr Anne Aly, Federal Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth and Senator Deborah O'Neill to invite them to the meeting.

"It's been proven by research that 85 per cent of students will stay in their local areas if they do part of their training there. It's vital this receives federal funding and the reinstatement really covers off on our priorities for regions," he said.

Mr Davies said housing and water security were also priorities for AWC.

"We need a reliable supply of water for critical human needs," he said. "If we can't provide that than we are living in a third world country. We can't afford to waste a drop of water. The environment needs water, certainly, but we need to account for the water returned to the environment and be sure that the best outcomes are reached."

Water is a hot topic for Mr Davies who was recently appointed as National President of the Murray Darling Association (MDA)..

Mr Davies has been on the Board of the MDA since 2019 before taking the top job.

He said that he “saw no distinction between the Northern and Southern Basins and would be working to engage with all MDA Region Chairs to identify issues and opportunities for the MDA to engage with to support, and advocate on behalf of Basin communities."

Mr Davies told Western Plains App that he does indeed "have many hats" but is dedicated to positive outcomes for the local communities.