A VIGOROUS debate on the Swan Hill bridge proposal has dominated a general meeting between Swan Hill and Wakool Shire councillors this week.
The two councils met at the Wakool Shire council chambers on Tuesday to discuss inter-council relations and issues.
Wakool Shire mayor Andrew Douglas said while the delegates covered a number of topics including the Tooleybuc bridge upgrade, rail freight opportunities and youth involvement, discussion on the proposed Swan Hill bridge took centre stage.
Cr Douglas said about half of the meeting, which ran for two and a half hours, was taken up by “vigorous discussion” on the contentious issue.
Despite the time invested, he said little ground was made on the issue.
He also expressed his disappointment that Swan Hill Rural City Council hadn’t come up with a viable alternative to 9a, and was yet to consult with the Wamba Wamba people since withdrawing support for 9a.
The 9a bridge option, previously agreed upon by all stakeholders, would have seen an intermediate level lift span bridge built slightly upstream of the current bridge.
Swan Hill mayor Les McPhee said the council understood and accepted that everyone had different views on the matter.
“It’s a situation where Swan Hill is opposed, and ((Wakool Shire)) is still in favour,” he said.
“Hopefully we can come to an agreement down the track. This meeting was just about letting either side know where we are standing and where we are coming from so we can all move ahead to everyone’s advantage.”
For more on this story, see Friday’s edition of The Guardian
(05/04/13).
