Mayoral Memo - 29 May 2024
The Local Government Act is very specific about a range of items and the demarcation among the three levels of government is mostly pretty clear. For example, the Federal Government takes care of social security and the defence forces. The State Government is responsible for school education and law and order. Local Government has prescribed roles in terms of waste management and local development approvals in addition to animal control.
In addition to all of the minimum requirements of Local Government, the 128 Councils across the State have, over time, customised their range of services to suit what their specific community needs. That might be in the provision of additional services or running events or even creating businesses. Bathurst Regional Council manages Australia’s premier race track, with Mount Panorama under the control of Council. Blue Mountains City Council runs advanced disaster management programs as their location requires progressive bushfire preparedness. Tamworth Regional Council runs the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Bogan Shire Council runs a Medical Centre.
Circa 1958, the State Government had a policy of decentralisation and one scheme was to start Council owned abattoirs across the State. The idea was to boost employment and the economies of regional locations. As a result, Council-owned abattoirs were built in more than ten regional locations including Dubbo; Wagga Wagga; Moree; Mudgee; Forbes and more.
There are inherent reasons why Council is not always the best operator of a business. A business often needs to be nimble and agile and respond to market conditions. Business involves risk and the political nature of Councils are typically risk averse. Significant changes in a Council-owned business also need to go through an open and transparent democratic process taking into account the views of the public whereas a private business owner can make decisions that deliver the best bottom line for the business without extensive public consultation.
As a result of these factors and others in addition to the changing nature of the business of abattoirs, these Council-owned abattoirs started closing down or were sold in fire sales from around the 1980s through to the early 2000s.
Not all was lost though. In some cases, private ownership filled the void left by the closure of the abattoirs. The best example is, of course, in Dubbo. In 1988, Roger Fletcher built a new high tech plant at Dubbo near the site of the former Council-owned abattoirs. It was the first new plant for sheep processing in NSW for over a decade. In the hands of a private operator who was investing significantly and taking products to new markets, Fletcher International Exports quickly became Dubbo’s largest employer and now exports to over 90 countries. I am confident that this expansion would not have been possible if the Dubbo abattoirs was still owned and run by the Council in Dubbo.
Councillor Mathew Dickerson
Mayor of Dubbo Regional Council
Last Edited: 28 May 2024