Warrumbungle Shire has undertaken an uncontested election for the upcoming local government elections which are scheduled for September 14. This comes after the Electoral Commission received nine nominations to fill nine positions for the next four year term.

Current Mayor, Ambrose Doolan, who has held the position since 2020, did not stand for re-election and said time pressures played a part in his decision to step down. “It’s a great job and I'm very honoured to have held it, but I'm a farmer, and that's a full-time job as well. There are not enough hours in the day and also a fair bit of stress. At times I will be out spraying and wondering how many more laps I can fit in before I have to head off to a council meeting.”

A promise to his wife also played a part in Mr Doolan’s decision not to continue on council.

“The previous council election was on my wife’s birthday, and she said the best present she could get would be to not see my name on the ballot paper,” Mr Doolan said. “I made a deal that I would do one more term and a deal is a deal. One night, I came home from meetings, and she was still out working in the cattle yards and that’s really not fair.”

Nine new councillors

The newly elected councillors for Warrumbungle Shire Council are Zoe Holcombe, Ray Lewis, Debra Bell, Kathryn Rindfleish, Dale Hogden, Kodi Brady, Denis Todd, Naomi Taylor and Jason Newton.

Mr Doolan said the new council provides a good mix of experience and enthusiasm.

“It's a good blend, we have six people who were already on council and one who has been on council previously,” Mr Doolan said. “Naomi Taylor and Deborah Bell are the new councillors and I congratulate them, and everyone else, for putting their hands up.”

“If I could offer advice, it would be that things take time, you can't change the world on the first day. And it also pays to be able to count to five as with a council of nine, that’s how many votes are needed to get something through.

Mr Doolan said that during his tenure, the resilience of the region had really impressed him.

“We have bounced back quite well from some natural disasters,” he said. “Floods and fires caused a lot of damage in the Shire, particularly to roads and infrastructure. Disaster funding has been put to good use to bring things back into shape.”

Council’s General Manager Roger Bailey said an extraordinary meeting of Council will be held on September 19 at 5pm in Coonabarabran where councillors will take an oath or affirmation, followed by the Mayoral Election.

And although Mr Doolan can now concentrate fully on his farm business, he is still excited about things to come for Warrumbungle Shire.

“The Renewable Energy Zone is a huge topic around the area,” he said. “In the southern part of the Shire, where the REZ will be based, we’re talking about having an incoming workforce which is half the current size of our Shire. There are some huge projects in the pipeline that will totally transform our part of the world. It will be exciting for the newly elected council to be part of it all.”