Murray River Council decided against the proposed reclassification of community land to operational land at its Tuesday, June 25 meeting.
A strong local contingent was in attendance at the meeting, with around 100 residents watching on from Moama Recreation Reserve Pavilion, a venue upsize to account for the crowd.
Cr Kron Nicholas presented the motion for rescission to council, asking for four lots to be removed from the list of 18 lots to be potentially reclassified.
These were Mathoura Part of Soldier Memorial Gardens, AE Murphy Park Mathoura, Highlands Park Moama and Rivergums Drive (Winbi) Park Moama.
An amendment to the motion to include the further 14 lots was put forward by Cr Geoff Wise.
Council voted for this amendment and for the motion to pass, with all councillors, bar Dennis Gleeson, in favour.
Cr Gleeson noted the struggles of farmers and rural Murray River Council residents such as those in his Wakool Ward, particularly with unpaved roads and a lack of services, as his reason for opposing the rescission.
“Now, I get it, you don’t want to close, that’s fine,” he said.
“At some time, the people in Moama are going to have to take a hit too, not the people in rural industry all the time.
“That’s who I’m speaking for.”
Due to a conflict of interest related to AE Murphy Park in Mathoura, the motion was split in two to allow Cr Tom Weyrich to vote on the remaining lots. Cr Nikki Cohen was not in attendance due to a prearranged leave of absence.
Mayor Frank Crawley voted in favour of the rescission, citing the community’s opposition to the proposal and community activism as his motivation.
Cr Crawley was in attendance at both community meetings, held at Winbi Park on Sunday, June 9, and Highlands Park on Sunday, June 23.
“This tells us, as a council, that an overwhelming number of Moama residents don’t want to see any parks sold off,” he said.
“There were a number of passionate speakers at the Highlands Park meeting talking about the physical and mental health benefits of green spaces and playgrounds as well as environmental benefits to flora, fauna, the air we breathe and social benefits of community cohesion.
“As a councillor who is committed to community consultation, I was particularly pleased that so many members of the public came out to be heard.
“I think that the importance of existing parks and green, open spaces to the community cannot be underestimated.
“I’m going to support the rescission motion, knowing that we’ll have a lot of hard work ahead of us to be financially sustainable.”
Cr Crawley delivered a mayoral minute following the passing of the rescission, asking council to appeal for a special rate variation to help improve its financial situation.
He has called on chief executive Terry Dodds to apply to the Independent Pricing And Regulatory Tribunal by February 2025 to potentially increase council rates.
If approved, the special rate variation will be determined and come into effect for the 2026/27 financial year.
The special rate variation was raised by councillors during the rescission motion as an alternative to reclassifying and subsequently selling the parks. The mayoral minute was passed unanimously.
Despite prospects of a rate increase, Cr Crawley received a glowing reception from the crowd, who were delighted to see the reclassification of the parks withdrawn.
“Everybody is very happy, very positive,” he said.
“It does just show that the council does listen to the community, and that’s really important.
“That’s why we’re here.”
Murray River Council residents, including meeting organisers Debbie Egan and Graeme Blow, were thrilled with the rescission.
“I’m really pleased, it’s a great result,” Ms Egan said.
“People power.
“I was hoping just for the four parks to be rescinded, but the better idea, of course, was to have the whole 18.
“It’s great that the council has listened, and we’ve got such a great result.”
Mr Blow, who presented his arguments against the proposal to council at the beginning of the meeting, was also happy with the outcome.
In his speech, he highlighted the benefits of green space for the wellbeing of the community, and attraction of visitors and residents to the area.
“I’m ecstatic,” he said.
“What drove me amongst all the other arguments ... the town’s point of difference is its parks.
“(If) we take that away, we risk taking away future growth.”