Federation, Indigo, Moira and Berrigan, councils sign MOU

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Federation, Indigo, Moira and Berrigan councils have signed a memorandum of understanding to improve their region as it recovers from the pandemic and prepares for a population increase.

All four mayors, and their general managers and CEOS came together in Mulwala on Wednesday, March 30 to officially sign the MOU agreement, which outlines agreed-to principles, including open information sharing, maximising services to meet the needs of the community, reducing costs and duplication, and seeking innovation.

Councillors from all four bodies voted unanimously for the agreement to be established to effectively remove jurisdictional lines.

Federation Council Mayor, Cr Pat Bourke said whilst the MOU was formed on the basis of achieving better community outcomes, he had no doubt the agreement would also be a gamechanger in respect to our region attracting funding.

“I believe that by working together with a strategic focus, that our united goals and projects will attract more funding from state and federal governments,” he said.

“Federation Council has a proud history of partnering with our neighbors on initiatives and issues that are important to our residents from all communities and I see this MOU as a way of formalizing our great relationship and scaling our team’s collaboration abilities even further.”

Mayor Bourke said it is apparent there is crossover with so many items within councils, whether it be tourism, health, road infrastructure and bridges.

“We need to work together,” he said.

“It’s extremely important we aren’t duplicating services, infrastructure or amenities on both sides of the river so collaboration is key to that. I see what we have been able to achieve from an advocacy perspective throughout Covid where we united to support our communities and make a difference. This is just the beginning and I look forward with anticipation to achieving more. Onwards and upwards is our way.”

/Public Release. View in full here.