mmg.com.au

Deniliquin Mayor Lindsay Renwick wants Deniliquin to be the main hub for the proposed Local Land Services (LLS) Murray region.

And he told NSW Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson so during her recent visit to Deniliquin.

However, the minister would not make any promises.

LLS will see the Livestock Health and Pest Authority (LHPA), Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and part of the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) merged.

Under the proposed Murray region boundaries, Deniliquin is one of the most central and largest towns in the region.

The only larger town is Albury, which is located on the boundary of the region.

The Riverina LHPA and Murray CMA head offices are also both located in Deniliquin, while the DPI does not have a head office.

However, Ms Hodgkinson she said the LLS proposal was a ‘‘work in progress’’.

When asked if Deniliquin would have an office at all, she said she would ‘‘absolutely imagine that Deniliquin would be one [town to have an office]’’.

Cr Renwick said Deniliquin has lost a lot of government departments, and that Ms Hodgkinson was aware of the situation.

‘‘She’s fully aware that we’ve had a bashing [with government centralisation],’’ he said.

‘‘The facilities that we’ve got in Deni [mean that] there’s no reason why it shouldn’t come to Deni.’’

As well as discussing the possible location of an LLS head office, Cr Renwick gave Ms Hodgkinson a list of nine questions he wants answered regarding the proposal.

Cr Renwick requested information on how many state-funded and project-funded jobs would be lost or transferred, what the final organisational structure would be, what (if any) functions would not be performed under LLS, and how LLS’s pest plant responsibilities would affect county councils.

Cr Renwick said he was awaiting a response.