Peter Bascomb has been appointed to oversee Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council’s demerger process. Image: Edwina Mason.
While Snowy Valleys residents voted last weekend to reverse their 2016 merger, Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council (CGRC) has advanced its own demerger plans, naming seasoned local government executive Peter Bascomb to lead the transition.
CGRC confirmed Mr Bascomb had begun in the role this week, bringing extensive experience from his previous positions with Tumbarumba Shire, Queanbeyan-Palerang and Snowy Monaro councils and, most recently, Balranald Shire Council, where he’s just completed a 12-month stint as interim general manager.
According to the council, he already started meeting with GCRC staff, coordinating early planning and establishing the frameworks needed to dismantle the amalgamated administration.
GCRC Mayor Abb McAlister said Mr Bascomb’s appointment marked the start of a practical, in-house phase of the demerger, “guided by careful administrative planning rather than a public vote”.
He praised his record working in small, close-knit communities.
“Peter’s career has been in councils like ours – Tumbarumba, Balranald and Snowy Monaro – exactly the kind of experience we need to guide this transition carefully, professionally and cost-effectively,” Cr McAlister said.
“His experience working in politically sensitive and uncertain environments will be invaluable as council navigates the next phase of the demerger process.”
The CGRC demerger has a lengthy and complex history.
Formed in May 2016 from the forced merger of Cootamundra and Gundagai shires, the council immediately faced community concern over representation, local identity and service delivery.
Opposition in Gundagai was so strong that residents set up a symbolic ‘Council in Exile’ to protest the merger.
Early attempts to reverse the NSW Government’s merger began in 2018 with an elector-initiated proposal, prompting a review by the NSW Local Government Boundaries Commission (LGBC).
While two commissioners supported a demerger, the majority report opposed it and, as a consequence, the then local government minister Shelley Hancock rejected the proposal.
CGRC persisted, submitting a demerger business case in 2021 under the allowable legal pathway.
After further public inquiry, review by the LGBC and the adoption of a new legal framework in 2023, the NSW Government formally approved the demerger on 17 July 2025 – making CGRC the first of the 2016 merger-era councils to win full separation under the revised process.
Cr McAlister said the announcement marked a victory for community advocacy.
“Tumbarumba and Gundagai residents agitated hard for change and look at what’s happened in Snowy Valleys – they had their say and the majority vote prevailed,” he said.
“It shows the power of the people and what a strong, engaged community can achieve,” Cr McAlister added, “and nothing was more indicative of how the Liberal Nationals government got it wrong by dictating mergers without actually listening to the communities.”
Unlike Snowy Valleys – where a public vote provided a clear mandate – CGRC’s demerger will be conducted through staged internal planning, including separating budgets, assets, staffing and governance.
Mr Bascomb’s task is to create two viable councils – one centred on Cootamundra, the other on Gundagai – without disrupting services during the transition.
Cr McAlister said that with more than two decades of leadership experience, Mr Bascomb was well placed to guide CGRC through the delicate demerger process.
“Peter has led councils through structural change, strategic planning, budget stabilisation, and staff realignment, and is widely recognised for steering organisations through complex transitions,” he said.
“It’s about putting the process in the hands of someone considered, with the right experience, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
Cr McAlister confirmed the timeline is now set, with the NSW Government aiming to establish the two new councils from 1 July 2027.
