Question over weirs?

Meeting in Bourke to talk about weirs on inland rivers – Independent Aboriginal Consultant Andrew McMahon, Sally Anderson-Day (DPIE-Water), Murrawarri Sovereign Nation’s Fred Hooper, Paul Tracy (WaterNSW), Michael Scotland (DPIE-Water), Donna Groves (WaterNSW), Ngemba Nation’s Phillip Sullivan, Skye Taylor (DPIE-Water), Brad Delaney (DPIE-Water), Rebecca Kline (DPIE-Water) and Emily Whalan (DPIE-Water). Photo TWH

Bourke Shire Council is pushing hard to persuade the state government to build a new weir at Bourke to improve town water security and to provide more opportunities for local industry and local employment.

The hope is that the state government will take leadership of this issue and build a new, higher weir on the Darling River at Bourke to provide at least 12 months secure water supply.

Mayor Barry Hollman said he was hopeful the government would still commit to the Western Weir program following the most recent round of discussions on the strategy.

“They won’t build a weir tomorrow but we’re hopeful that we can get an assurance and get them to sign on the dotted line in a couple of years and say ‘yes, we’re going to build a weir for Bourke’,” Mayor Hollman said.

“That’s all we want; we want to know we can do it and get sustainability out of that.

“Water in the town will create more opportunities for employment so we’re pushing hard.

“It is one of our major items on the Bourke Council agenda, and I am always on the front foot on the issue.

“We won’t give up until we have a clear direction on where the Western Weirs Strategy is going

“We are keen for Bourke to be one of the places where we can get bigger water storage,” he said.

But at an indigenous consultation in Bourke on Friday – state government representatives were far from conceding that any new weirs were needed at all.

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