Griffith City Council has confirmed Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will be in town for a national summit later this year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At this week's council meeting, Griffith councillors endorsed the decision to be the host city for the third annual Bush Summit and commited $50,000 towards the event.
The summit will see political, business, and community leaders travel to the MIA in August to discuss the future of regional NSW.
The $50,000 contributed by council will go to the organisers of the event to assist with costs.
Five years down the track from now, people will probably be saying they can't believe Griffith got this event for just $50,000
- Griffith deputy mayor Simon Croce
Council will also provide in-kind support by providing catering, security and the use of Griffith Regional Theatre.
Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Brian Simpson raised concerns with the $50,000 cost.
"Budgets aren't flush and this is another expense for council," Cr Simpson said. "There are no allocated funds for this sponsorship and if we're looking at expending funds we need to identify where these funds are coming from."
In response to Cr Simpson's concerns, general manager Brett Stonestreet confirmed there were no provisions in the budget to pay for the event but said council would be able to source additional funds.
Cr Anne Napoli, Cr Glen Andreazza, Cr Dino Zappacosta and deputy mayor Simon Croce recognised concerns with the cost but ultimately agreed the potential benefits of hosting the summit was worth the money.
READ MORE
"Five years down the track from now, people will probably be saying they can't believe Griffith got this event for just $50,000," deputy mayor Croce said.
"It's a new event but it's building every year and getting bigger and better."
"$50,000 is a lot of money but it's not so much how you spend it's about the return in investment and I think ours will be good. It's up to us to capitalise on it and get the best bang for our buck."
Speaking to The Area News earlier this week, mayor John Dal Broi said holding the summit in Griffith was a "coup" for the region.
"As well as the Prime Minister and the Premier, there's going to be Federal and State ministers there taking part," mayor Dal Broi said.
Mayor Dal Broi said he aims to highlight the importance of water in the region and discuss in-depth the benefits and drawbacks of the Murray Darling Basin plan with relevant national leaders.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.areanews.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News