Ratepayers in the Armidale Regional Council area concerned about local issues are being encouraged to join the leadership group of the Armidale Regional Ratepayers Association (ARRA).
ARRA is a member based organisation founded in 2018, and has been a vocal opponent to many issues including unsuccessfully opposing the recent 50% rate hike by Armidale Regional Council.
The issues the group identifies as concerning include water supply, renewable energy production and distribution, population growth, services provided by the council including the airport, business park, waste management, pollution, development of infrastructure such as transport, cycling, sporting, and communication, and council policies in relation to land management.
ARRA is looking for new members both for the Association and Executive Committee which leads the organisation. They are in need of a new Secretary and Treasurer plus a few committee members, and are inviting people who may be interested to come forward.
The next General Meeting of ARRA will be held on Monday 14th of August at 5.30pm at the Armidale Bowling Club.
Mayor of Armidale Regional Council, Sam Coupland, will be the guest speaker at this meeting and is expected to speak on his fears that the federal Government may be planning to relocate the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) back to Canberra. The Minister for Agriculture Murray Watt has repeatedly denied there are any such plans, and has stated that the current issues with the APVMA are not related to the agency having an Armidale office or the town of Armidale, but rather the way the move was handled. The agency has never closed its Canberra office.
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