Narrabri Shire Council
Background
Narrabri Shire is conveniently located halfway between Brisbane and Sydney. It is two and a half hours from the Queensland border and is well serviced by road, rail and air. The topography of the area varies from fertile river plains through to rugged mountain ranges. As the lifeblood of the Shire, the Namoi River meanders through the vast plains. The area is characterised by expansive blue sky, stunning mountain ranges, scenic waterways and fresh air.
The Shire is a modern regional growth centre encompassing a strong business community without the stresses and pressures of a large city environment. In recent years the area has diversified from its traditional agriculture base of grain, cotton, wool, beef and prime lamb production to coal mining and gas extraction and exploration. The advent of these new resource based industries, in conjunction with ancillary business, is providing a breadth and depth of job opportunities for the Shire.
The Shire's largest town of Narrabri is a transport hub, positioned on the crossroads of the Newell and Kamilaroi Highways and having extensive rail links for passenger and freight, and a twice daily return flight to Sydney.
The summer temperatures range from 20°C to 39°C with winter ranging 0°C to 20°C. Narrabri Shire has an average rainfall of 657 mm per year.
Sustainability Initiatives and Achievement
Narrabri Shire Council has recently undertaken an Economic Social Plan for Narrabri Shire which aims to have a number of objectives in relation to Climate Change Opportunities achieved by 2015. These objectives include:
- Look to reduce consumption of electricity by 10% by using alternative power sources.
- Develop an internal strategy and policy as well as exploring other initiatives to develop green business in Narrabri Shire.
- Encourage the use of water saving devices.
- Develop staff policies and provide resources to encourage staff to actively reduce Council's energy consumption and outputs.
- Facilitate Green Audits of LGA businesses.
Narrabri Shire Council is currently undergoing the following sustainability projects:
- Replacing irrigation lines and outlets and sinking a new bore at the Narrabri Lawn cemetery which will save water in the long run.
- Tree planting on the banks of Narrabri Creek for erosion control and habitat creation.
- Developing a waste strategy in the 2011/12 financial year.
- Investigating a recycling processing plant at the Narrabri Waste Depot.
- Improving irrigation on sporting field by watering at the optimum time of day.
- Basic mulching for the banks of trees at the entries into Narrabri township.
- Retaining biodiversity by controlling noxious and invasive weeds.