Plans by Rous County Council (RCC) to ‘abandon Lismore’ and move the local water authority to Ballina have united local politicians in concern.

State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin and Federal MP Kevin Hogan joined forces today, calling for Rous Councillors to reconsider moving its staff to a new location at the coast.

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Ms Saffin said moving the business from its current location on Molesworth Street in Lismore is “abandoning Lismore” and she called for Rous County Councillors to reconsider their decision.

“They are our flood mitigation authority and Lismore is the most flood-affected city across the area,” Ms Saffin said.

“So how could they even think about moving away – and moving the jobs away from Lismore city.

“I cannot comprehend how any councillor could make that decision. I call on them to explain to the public why they would even think about doing it.”

Worst kept secret

Federal MP Kevin Hogan said that while the decision to move was made in a confidential meeting, it was the “worst kept secret in town”.

Mr Hogan said the reasons he had been given for the move were because RCC wanted to buy a building to house all of its employees, and that a suitable site had been found in Ballina.

Both Ms Saffin and Mr Hogan called on the Rous Councillors to “look harder” for a suitable new building, based in Lismore, not Ballina.

Services

RCC services the Ballina, Byron, Lismore and Richmond Valley Local Government Areas and is responsible for bulk water supply, weed biosecurity and flood mitigation across the area.

With 350 employees across the network, about 60 of them work at the Lismore based Rous building.

“These employees are important to our town,” Mr Hogan said. “They shop here and bring business to the town.

“They were set up here because this is the centre of core business.

“Saying it’s for better asset management is not a good enough reason.”

"I can’t see how moving to Ballina will make it cheaper for us to buy our water – the two don’t flow,” Ms Saffin said.

Lismore Councillors

Two Lismore City Councillors, Darlene Cook and Lismore Mayor Vanessa Ekins, sit on the Rous Board and contribute to the decision making at RCC.

“I want to know what justification they have in voting jobs out of this town,” Mr Hogan said.

“It’s a question that the Lismore Mayor has to answer. She voted at an RCC meeting to see Rous move to another town, from her town."

Lismore Mayor Ekins

Lismore Mayor Vanessa Ekins said Rous is a large organisation that services six councils.

“So, the Rous Board unanimously decided that Rous investigate premises for all staff,” she said.

“Rous staff live in Lismore, their children school in Lismore, they shop in Lismore and will continue to do this.

“Lismore is the regional centre and every day 35,000 cars come into Lismore to access our services.

“Just to be clear – there are no job losses as part of the planned move.”