The Tumbarumba community have long campaigned against the forced merger of their shire council with Tumut. Photo: Save Tumbarumba Shire.
Amendments to the Local Government Act that took effect last month have created a clearer path for NSW councils to pursue de-amalgamation – but two southern NSW councils are already deep into the process, each on a different journey.
Snowy Valleys is progressing under the new de-amalgamation framework, while Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council (CGRC) is well advanced under the older legal route.
While their paths diverge, both councils remain steadfast in their shared goal: restoring local decision-making and giving communities greater control over services, rates and planning.
The 2016 amalgamation of local councils in NSW was part of a broader statewide initiative to reduce the number of councils and improve efficiency in local governance.
This led to the forced merger of several councils, including:
- Snowy Valleys Council, formed by the amalgamation of Tumut and Tumbarumba shires
- Cootamundra–Gundagai Regional Council, created by merging Cootamundra and Gundagai shires.
The first elector-led effort to demerge Snowy Valleys Council can be traced back to 2019 only to have local government minister Shelley Hancock, despite recommendations to the contrary from the Local Government Boundaries Commission (LGBC), knock them back two years later due to a lack of consensus.
Snowy Valleys kicked off its second demerger attempt in June 2022 with a feasibility study from the University of Newcastle, a formal business case lodged in September 2023, followed by community presentations in Tumut and Tumbarumba in May 2024.
In January 2025, town hall sessions were held in Tumut, Tumbarumba, Khancoban and Talbingo to present and gather feedback on the detailed implementation and financial plans.
“We’ve had lots of meetings — community feedback has been very, very positive,” Snowy Valleys Mayor Julia Ham said.
The plan is now with the LGBC who indicated it would deliver recommendations by April 2025.
If approved, a binding constitutional referendum will follow, backed by up to $5 million in grants and a low-interest loan, with the vote expected to cost around $130,000.
However, Cr Ham understands the State Government plans to consider Cootamundra-Gundagai’s de-amalgamation proposal before making a decision on Snowy Valleys.
“We all live in hope that we will go to a constitutional referendum, which in the business plan is set down for October, but it would be good to have it out of the way by the end of this year,” she said.
The path to dissolution of CGRC, on the other hand, has been pitted with setbacks dating back to 2021 when Minister Hancock, as with Snowy Valleys, also formally rejected CGRC’s initial de-amalgamation bid, deeming the community support and available information insufficient for a confident decision.
A year later a second demerger plan was endorsed in August 2022 by Hancock’s successor, Wendy Tuckerman, but then abandoned by the incoming Labor Government in March 2023 for legal reasons, forcing a fresh start.
That led to a new round of public inquiries, with their latest proposal formally referred to the LCBC in June 2024 and a third public inquiry, including hearings in Gundagai and Cootamundra, in late 2024 and early 2025.
There’s no referendum and no automatic funding mechanism under the older framework so the fate of CGRC now depends on commission recommendations and final ministerial approval.
Mayor Abb McAllister remains optimistic that a decision on CGRC’s de-amalgamation is imminent, adding that the community “have voiced their concerns over and over again”.
Local residents are keenly watching both processes unfold.
Doug Gee of the Save Tumburumba Shire advocacy group says it’s hard not to conclude the government has been sitting on its hands.
“The amendments were passed through both houses in August from memory, so it’s unfathomable that it has taken until May for them to come into effect,” he said.
He says the group’s biggest concern – assuming the Boundaries Commission says the demerger should proceed – is how proactively SVC will promote the “yes” case.
“We’ve heard various councillors make statements to the effect that, “it’s not their role to argue in favour”, or “it’s up to the Tumbarumba community to push the “yes” case” but SVC needs to recognise this is their demerger proposal, promoted by SVC, funded by SVC and without any community engagement,” he said.
“If it fails it will be SVC’s failure,” he said. “If they stand back and do nothing to convince the community of the merits of a demerger, and the need for everybody to vote for it they will be pilloried by the community for wasting significant funds, resources and community energy, and they will continue to run a council that is unsustainable.”
More information on the Local Government Amendment (De-amalgamations) Act 2024 is available on the Legislation Register at Local Government Amendment (De-amalgamations) Act 2024.
A flowchart outlining the new de-amalgamation pathway is available here.
