Coalition of Great Southern councils invite Katanning and Gnowangerup to join forces

The shires of Katanning and Gnowangerup have strengthened ties with their neighbours by joining forces with the Southern Link Voluntary Regional Organisation of Councils.

The VROC was established in 2015 as a regional collaboration between the shires of Broomehill-Tambellup, Cranbrook, Kojonup and Plantagenet to collaboratively improve and advocate for better environmental, economic, community and human resource developments for the region.

Shire of Katanning chief executive Julian Murphy has been attending VROC meetings for the past couple of years.

The group has invited Gnowangerup and Katanning to join the VROC for the next four years to extend the number of member shires to six.

Shire of Katanning president Liz Guidera said the Southern Link VROC was all about co-operation.

“We have worked very hard in the last five years to build positive relationships with councils, and this is part of that,” she said.

“This is the logical next step, to be in a formal arrangement with them.

“This brings a strength to our advocacy when we have six councils advocating for improved services.

“We believe the future of local government is a challenge to be sustainable, and it is essential for all of us to work together.”