Orange City Council opened Joint Regional Planning Panel membership to expressions of interest in July.

Selected members join a panel of five, three appointed by the state and two by the community, to determine regionally-significant development applications valued above $30 million or $5 million where Orange City Council or the Crown have an interest, in order to depoliticise decision making.

Mayor Reg Kidd, former council planner Allan Renike and geologist John Holliday submitted applications. 

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Cr Kidd withdrew his nomination on the night and instead, councillors nominated councillors Russell Turner, who chairs the planning committee, and Scott Munro. 

Mr Renike was also selected.

Councillors are eligible for the committee and have served in the past, but Mr Holliday said he felt dismissed. 

“They went out to expressions of interest, three people put in expressions of interest and they had to choose from those people and they didn’t do that,” he said.

“Why volunteer if they treat you like that?”

An opponent of the industrial business park near the airport, Mr Holliday did not think his stance cost him. 

“Some of the councillors involved in that decision were against the airport,” he said.

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