Mayor Bourke has served a total of 15 years for Urana Shire Council and Federation Council.
He was Urana Mayor for four years and is in his fifth year as Federation Council Mayor, having been elected Federation Council’s inaugural mayor, in September 2017.
LGNSW President Darriea Turley AM congratulated Mayor Bourke who was taken by surprise with the award announcement.
“I’m honoured to receive the award but what you do is for the love of the communities and to make the shire better,” he told The Free Press.
A round of applause was given to Mayor Bourke by his fellow councillors at council’s latest monthly meeting on December 20.
At the LGNSW Conference, which was conducted from October 23 to 25, 2022 in Newcastle, Federation Council had its motions passed, that Local Government lobbies the NSW Government to:
• Develop a clear framework to allow council to work with the State Government, Industry in their council areas who require housing, and other stakeholders, to allow councils to develop or renew existing housing strategies that have a clearer connection to outcomes, including funding programs.
•Allow councils with adopted Growth Strategies and accompanying service plans and reflective Local Environmental Plans, to have access to a funding stream that assists councils to fund network infrastructure and sewer and water plants (new/replacement or upgrades), to reflect the growing need for housing in rural and regional areas.
•To allow for more general road grant allocations, such as varying the criteria for Fixing Local Roads and Fixing Country Roads grant programs, to not require them to be applied to a specific road, and allow the councils to submit groups of roads, to allow the funds to be spread across a wider range of roads.
