ORANGE may have a representative as deputy chair of the central west’s regional organisation, but while councillor Reg Kidd says the city will benefit, it will not have an added advantage.
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Cr Kidd has been a member of Regional Development Australia Central West’s board since it was formed six years ago and with his most recent board term concluding, he submitted an expression of interest to become its deputy chair.
“I know the region well and I’ve been involved in the business and education sectors so I hope it’s just that I had the skills,” he said of being selected for the position.
Cr Kidd said the RDA had a critical role in gaining state and federal funding for regional projects in the past, including Mount Panorama at Bathurst and Orange Airport.
He said health, transport and employment projects would be the top priorities for the next three years.
“In a good place to build businesses or a good place to build a home, they’re all things people expect to have,” he said.
“We’re looking at Parkes, for instance, including money for studies for the transport hub and in that period of time, I would hope to see more funding from the state and federal governments channelled into the region.”
He said the board would continue to look through the NSW Central West Freight Study, released last November, for further projects to pursue.
However, Cr Kidd said it was important for board members to look beyond their own home towns and consider the region as a whole.
“If we improve the linkage east-west [from Sydney to the Newell Highway], everyone benefits,” he said.
“In some other places, they feel the big end of town is Orange and Bathurst, but it’s important to help places like Parkes and Canowindra and Forbes feel part of the region because they all have something to offer.”
danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au