There are some fresh faces in the state’s 11 Local Land Services (LLS) regional boards with last week’s NSW Government announcement of new ministerial appointments.

The Western Plains region encompasses three LLS areas and all three boards saw new chairs and at least one new member appointed by Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty.

The Central West region covers the central west slopes region around Grenfell, Forbes, and Wellington to the western plains of Nyngan and Coonamble.

The North West region extends from Moree Plains Shire Council in the north to Liverpool Plains Shire Council in the south, Walgett Shire Council in the west and Gwydir Shire Council in the east.

The huge Western region extends from Bourke in the north, Balranald in the south and extends to the Queensland and South Australian borders, covering 40 per cent of the state.

During an extensive statewide recruitment process, 157 applications were received to join LLS regional boards across NSW.

Boards are made up of a mix of Ministerially appointed and elected board members who bring a wealth of skills, experience, and commitment to the organisation.

Of the 24 appointments, some have been re-appointed for a further and final term while others will be joining LLS for the first time.

Newly announced board members in our regions include Magnus Aitken (Conargo) as Western local board chair, Hugh McLean, and Lawrence Clarke as Western local board members; Stephanie Cameron (Tamworth) as North West board chair and Tim White as a local board member; Paul (Midnight) Brydon will be Central West local board chair and Lisa Schiff joins as a Central West board member.

Paul (Midnight) Brydon, an Indigenous elder from the Narromine area, took the leadership role after Dubbo-based Susan Madden held the position for the past ten years. According to the CWLLS, Ms Madden has been pivotal in the development of their strategic plan.

“With close to 20 years of experience working in agriculture and natural resource management, Susan brought invaluable knowledge and skills to the region as well as to the state board,” they stated on social media.

LLS board members collaborate closely with landholders and local communities to identify and help shape the services offered by LLS, such as providing best practice advice on pest animal management, agricultural production, and natural resource management.

Last week, the Government also released the review of the LLS boards and committees. Minister Tara Moriarty requested the review.

“Local Land Services regional boards play a key role in connecting the organisation to landholders and communities across NSW,” she said.

“As the agency reaches its 10th year of operation, this was a timely review to understand whether the existing structure of its boards and committees are appropriate for the functions they perform. While there were a wide range of options outlined in this review, I have opted for practical and common-sense refinements to ensure LLS is set up for success.”

“Importantly, we are already actioning the supported recommendations that will improve the way LLS operates so it can continue to deliver its valued services for farmers and landholders" Minister Moriarty said.

"I will be writing to the new LLS Chairs, once they’re appointed, to ensure these recommendations continue to progress and be implemented.”

The review provided several options for reform ranging from maintaining the status quo to a major overhaul of the LLS board and governance structure.

Options for reform being actioned include:

• Retaining the LLS Board comprising of regional representatives and an independent chair as the agency’s primary governance
• Remunerating board members in line with similar groups and boards across government, resulting in $1.4 million in savings that will be reinvested into LLS
• Creating one governance structure where local boards become sub-committees of the LLS Board, simplifying compliance, and reducing costs
• Retaining the existing LLS election process to ensure ratepayers have a say on who represents their region.

Other options outlined in the review that were not supported included reducing the number of LLS regions and replacing all regional boards with a single representative.

Download and read the full review PDF.