Armidale Regional Ratepayers Association Inc

03/09/2026

'Just not on': Mayor shuts down pro-rail objectors in council meeting

Jacob McMaster
By Jacob McMaster
September 3 2026 -

"The behaviour from the gallery is well outside the code of meeting practice ... it is just not on," Armidale mayor Sam Coupland told pro-rail advocates who disrupted a vote last week.

Cr Coupland told guests at council's ordinary meeting on Wednesday, August 26, the meeting practice was tantamount to "common courtesy".

"If anyone has any problem with that, please leave."

The comments came after members of the public had spoken over councillors or shouted criticism at councillors who posed questions to Lynda Gasbarri and Dr Siri Gamage, who spoke against a vote on the progress of plans for a rail trail.

The two speakers were given five minutes each to express their views, before councillors had the opportunity to ask questions, but it was during those questions that viewers shouted remarks.

Ms Gasbarri said there were community projects that should be prioritised including girls and women's changing rooms at sporting fields, existing bike path upkeep and road and health services investment.

She said the total number of submissions, about 1850, about support or not for a rail trail was misleading as only about 450 submissions had been made by people in the local government area (LGA).

She said reports indicated upkeep of a trail could reach $250,000 a year and if volunteers and backers were not found, that cost would be borne by ratepayers over the proposed 30-year lease.

"Who pays? It is us the ratepayers," she said.

"We do not accept results born from flawed methodology and lack of transparency ... community will not stop its opposition, we will take this all the way to state government if needed."

Dr Gamage said rail proponents were strongly opposed to any position that would remove the existing tracks.

"Council's current plan contradicts so fundamentally with our vision of preserving the railway corridor for future transport use," he said.

He noted his petition opposed to the trail had reached 12,500 signatures.

"Our mission is much broader than opposing rail trail, we want better regional transport, stronger north-south connectivity."

In response to questions he said some people who offered conditional support for a trail had been counted as supporters and said "that is wrong".

Cr Eil Imad said he had fought alongside Dr Gamage in opposition to the rail trail at the council election. He said the mayor and three other councillors elected by a strong margin on the same ticket were widely known to be supporters of the trail.

"Wouldn't you say that that is conclusive evidence under our democratic system that people have spoken?"

Dr Gamage said he had not seen pro-trail promotion by them, but discourse was interrupted by shouts and heckling from the gallery.

"If there are any more outbursts we're going to shut this down," Cr Coupland said.

Later during the vote, to acknowledge a report on the status of works to get the project to a stage where it could appeal for grant or government funding, proceedings were again paused after further comments came from the public gallery with the public also handing a piece of paper to Cr Rob Taber.

Cr Taber had already indicated he operated a business in Guyra and was supportive of efforts to restore rail services, stating he would abstain from voting on the motion.

Cr Coupland asked whatever paper had been handed to him be given back to the public and told those seated in the chambers it was open to public viewers, not input.

Councillors then unanimously voted to note the report on the status.

Correction: My petition has reached 5500 supporters -not 12500(SG)

Protest from the public gallery caused delays to a vote.

24/08/2026

Uralla and Armidale Mayors announced the Armidale Water Security project is now on the Department of Planning's portal in this clip
https://www.facebook.com/reel/889281540626896
The Project is on the Planning Portal as Armidale Water Security Project (SSI-139387988)
There is a Request for Planning Focus Meeting on the Portal- apparently there is one planned for Wednesday 2 September 2026 2pm – the letter from Department Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has : One purpose of the PFM is to provide the agencies and councils with a briefing on the proposal and its likely impacts such that the attendees provide advice to the Department on the scope of matters to consider in developing the SEARs. The PFM must also outline the engagement carried out with agencies and councils to date, including what has been consulted on and how this has influenced the proposal, the identification of potential impacts and the proposed assessment scope. Advice on proposed future consultation during preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement should also be presented.

15/08/2026

12/08/2026

In 2019 we saw add campaigns done by Armidale Regional Council (ARC) with two Councillors wearing shower caps and bathrobes, encouraging us to save water to avoid 'Day Zero'!
Yes, back then it was a looming water crisis so there was some justification for measures such as these to be taken.

However, here we are in 2026 and a similar add has appeared on the ARC page with a Councillor appearing in a bathtub (with clothes and a shower cap on!) with the same water conservation message about avoiding 'Day Zero'.
Again, ARRA understands that it is well intentioned (and good on the Councillor for being prepared to do it), however, it shouldn't need to be happening again.

In 2019 Council may have been caught 'on the hop' with our declining water situation (Malpas Dam ultimately got down to 33%), however, almost seven years later something should have been physically done (constructed) to prevent the threat of us potentially running out of water.

ARRA have consistently been strong supporters for the raising of Malpas Dam wall by 6.5 meters (potentially doubling its capacity to 26 gigalitres) as priority work over the much more expensive Oaky River Dam option.

We believe that there are two ways in which the Malpas Dam project can get done within the next four years.

Firstly, is for ARC to approach the state government to see whether they will fund the construction (guessing at a cost of around $60,000,000).

Secondly, should the first way fail, or should the government only be prepared to partially fund the project, is for ARC to go to the community and see whether there is an 'appetite' for us to pay a levy (special rates variation) for a finite period of (say) seven years to get the construction work done 'in house'.

No rates increase is ever popular, however, compared to what we could be expected to pay for the Oaky River Dam project (potentially some hundreds of millions of dollars), $60 million doesn't seem too bad, particularly when this would bring relatively quick water security to our region (depending on that all important rain of course).

We believe (or at least hope!) that the design plans for this work on Malpas Dam wall have been done or are being done.

We have very recently suggested both these ideas to ARC so they shouldn't view them as 'left-field'.

I hate hearing those words 'Day Zero'. I find them to be threatening and depressing, so what is suggested above is a way that we don't need to hear them anymore, and so that we can get on with our lives without this horrible (and sadly real) possibility currently hanging over us (again!).

09/08/2026

So disappointing that ARC didn’t allow comments on this facebook post as I’d particularly like to address the question of the ‘open community forum’ held on 28 July at the Armidale Ex-Services Club- I was one of the 11 community members in attendance.
At the Markets in the Mall on Sunday 26 July I asked at the ARC stall what the format of the forum on Tuesday 28 July at the Ex-Services Club would be and was told it had been incorrectly advertised as a forum- that it would be more like the pop-up stall with computers available for the survey. I’m old enough to think of a forum as an open, public gathering for broad discussion and the exchanging of diverse (even opposing) ideas – I was disappointed but went along, nevertheless.
At the start of the evening there were 5 Council reps and 11 community members- we mingled for a while then Alex Manners, ARC’s Chief Officer Regional Growth & Infrastructure, delivered a presentation which was followed by a period of questions and observations- about the nature of the planning process, the conflation of Regional and Local Government Area water security issues, the significance of the Malpas Dam Wall Raising Report (recently released after a Freedom of Information request by ARRA). I imagine I wasn’t the only one there who was disappointed that it all felt like a tick-a-box exercise with the aim of getting us to fill in the survey as most suitable to ARC’s predetermined course.
ARC’s post observes: Attendance at engagement sessions and survey participation throughout the consultation period have been lower than expected. Many residents have had experiences causing them to have given up any expectation that there would be any genuine consultation. Elizabeth
https://www.facebook.com/100064633511598/posts/1507175014780268/?rdid=XdYPjZsfU4vWKg2r #

Facts, not fiction: Council's water consultation and water security planning

Recent commentary by some ill-informed members of the community has raised questions about a forum held on 4 August as part of Council's consultation on future water and sewerage infrastructure needs.

✅ Multiple opportunities for community input have been provided, including a public forum, pop-up sessions, targeted engagement, submissions and an online survey.
✅ All water consumers (approximately 9,000 properties) were notified of the consultation by mail and the public engagement opportunities
✅ The 4 August session was a targeted forum designed to hear from residents who may not normally participate in Council consultations. Participants were recruited to ensure a broad cross-section of community views was represented.
✅ Consultants had a limited role, assisting with the targeted community forum, business engagement and development of the community survey. All other engagement activities were delivered by Council staff.
✅ Council has made significant progress on water security planning since the 2019 drought and is now undertaking the Environment Impact Statement (EIS) process for its proposed water security package, a key step in delivering long-term, sustainable water solutions for the region.

The 4 August forum was one of several engagement activities undertaken as part of the consultation. This particular forum was delivered by consultants on behalf of Armidale Regional Council and involved participants who were recruited to represent a broad cross-section of the community, providing input from residents who may not normally engage with Council. As a targeted session, it was not publicly advertised. Contemporary engagement practices recognise that incentives are often required to encourage participation from residents who do not ordinarily engage in consultation processes. People are busy and value their time, and we understand that.

The consultants' involvement in the project was limited to facilitating this targeted community forum, undertaking targeted business engagement, and developing the community survey. All other engagement activities were delivered directly by Council staff.

This followed an open community forum held on 28 July at the Armidale Ex-Services Club, which was promoted to all water consumers through a letter sent to approximately 9,000 properties. Attendance at engagement sessions and survey participation throughout the consultation period have been lower than expected.

In addition to these forums, Council has held pop-up sessions in Armidale and Guyra and continues to encourage residents to complete the community survey. All engagement opportunities have been promoted through direct mail, Council's social media channels, e-newsletters and the Your Say Armidale website.

There has also been commentary suggesting limited progress has been made on water security since the 2019 drought. This is not the case. Working in partnership with the NSW Government, Council has undertaken significant planning and development work and is now progressing the Environment Impact Statement (EIS) for its water security package, a key requirement for State Significant Infrastructure projects.

08/08/2026

Apil 2022
Mayor Sam Coupland and Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall had a face-to-face meeting with Water Minister Kevin Anderson recently to brief him on the details of the proposal and seek his support for the capital funding to get moving on the water security project for a $26 million proposal to raise the Malpas Dam wall by 6.5 metres, more than doubling Armidale and Guyra's current potable water supply, has been formally put to the state government.

06/08/2026

On Tuesday evening 4 August, Armidale Regional Council (ARC) conducted a water security ‘forum’.

Compared to such events from past Councils, this one was, to say the least, unusual.

When a few of us from ARRA became aware of this event, we half considered that it could be a scam, as no one seemed to know about it.

I had been sent a contact number from an ARRA member so I called it.

I talked to a lady supposedly from a consultancy group, saying that they had been engaged by ARC. She was very pleasant, and told me that there were still five spaces left for the forum.
She did indicate, however, that they needed more younger people (which I told her wasn’t my demographic!) and urged me to send the link, which she has sent me, to our younger members.

It all seemed plausible enough so I filled-in the application from my link.

The following morning, when I hadn’t had a response, I then wondered if it was, in fact, a scam.

Out of a bit of concern I contacted a Councillor, who knew nothing about it. This Councillor contacted another Councillor who also knew nothing about it. This second Councillor then contacted the Mayor who did know about it!

Shortly after this I received a reply from the consultant (whose name I’ve suppressed), which read:

“Hi Robert, I did check with the client and unfortunately we cannot include you in the session. Thanks for understanding Regards (consultant’s name) Country Opinions”

This came as no surprise to me as once the powers that be at ARC saw my name they would have instantly rejected me, as they know that I totally oppose their grandiose water security plans over the blindingly obvious wall raising option of Malpas Dam.

I have consistently and unwaveringly held this view since 2019, well before those promoting this ‘gold-plated’ scheme were around.
The ARC plan involves the rebuilding the Oaky River Dam wall, vast kilometres of pipeline into Armidale and up to Malpas Dam, three to four large pumping stations and finally working on Malpas Dam (in 2042?)

The people who were chosen to take part, in what was effectively yet another survey, were remunerated for their involvement ($180 individuals and $300 for businesses).
Of course all these costs fall back on ratepayers.

Probably the thing that bothered me the most about this so-called forum was the secrecy around it and its targeted marketing.

Gone are the days where Councillors had to front (potentially) angry residents in the Armidale Town Hall or the Guyra Golf Club.
As a Councillor, I did three or four of these town hall style events and they really focus your attention😅

No, with this Council, it’s all done with expensive consultants and carefully thought out surveys, seemingly designed to steer well intentioned people to give Council the results it wants.

However, with all this cleverness, the one thing that ARC can’t do is to influence the weather (and lack of rain), so could we be facing the same scenario as in 2019, where ARC were discussing plans to evacuate Armidale when the water ran out.

How on earth could we possibly even be talking about this again, given Council have had almost seven years to give us water security?

But here we again!

06/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/61588980935676/posts/pfbid0gtmvjEPuR4noKLq4TASDMJL7uaKbu8RZ7vzU9hjVF3ggwrDLhAGCibVZsMLCZPAFl/?rdid=fOatUpsp0WEVfYNY #

This infographic was on Council's website on 15 March 2022. It shows plans to have the Malpas dam wall raised by 6.5 metres by 2026.

If this had been done, we'd have access to a secure supply of 3.69 GL/year, far more than the 2.4 GL that's been used in any year since the drought*, so it's unlikely that we'd need any water restrictions for at least another 10 years!

Compared to the current estimate of $800 million cost of 'water security in our region', raising the Malpas dam wall is a relatively cheap option - preliminary cost in May 2021 of $15 million + $6 million contingencies, with former MP, Adam saying in June 2022 that he'd obtained a $27 million funding reservation from the NSW Government. In November 2023, the estimated cost had increased to $32 million + $9.6 million contingencies - more details in 1st comment.

* Consumption in FY19/20, 20/21, 21/22, 22/23, 23/24, 24/25 and 25/26 all below 2.4 GL/year, so a dam able to supply 3.69 GL/year every year with only level 1 restrictions for 6 months out of every 10 years would make it unlikely at current consumption levels that we'd need any water restrictions for at least another 10 years!
https://web.archive.org/web/20220315030329/https://www.armidaleregional.nsw.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/1101/Malpas%20Dam%20Upgrade%20Infographic%20timeline%20[Converted].pdf.aspx

03/08/2026

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