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| Bevan O'Regan, Narrabri Councillor. Photo by Kate Ausburn |
Bevan O’Regan, Narrabri Councillor – Photo Kate Ausburn
- See more at:
http://nofibs.com.au/2014/01/24/maverick-narrabri-councillor-bevan-oregan-certain-style-country-bloke-leardblockade/#comment-611724th January 2014
Intro:
Plenty will be said and written about this week’s swift action by Narrabri Shire Councillor Bevan O’Regan, who managed to block the Council’s attempt to evict protestors from two mining areas in NSW’s Leard and Piliga state forests.
The eviction was attempted on bushfire safety grounds, with Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Forestry NSW intervention labelled as politically motivated.
“As a council we have stooped to gutter politics in an attempt to achieve a desired result,” Cr O’Regan said. “The protestors at the camp are protesting in a passive manner. They have been there for about 17 months and have survived on donations of fuel from farmers, as well as water, firewood and groceries from the general public as they call in on their way to Boggabri to shop”.
“In my 31 years as councillor, I have not seen any attempt by the Narrabri Council to circumvent normal council procedure to achieve a political result as the actions that has surfaced in the last 48 hours.”
No Fibs is pleased to publish Rosemary Nankivell’s account of the man behind the last minute reprieve for the #Leardblockade.
There is a certain style of country bloke very much in the character of the heroes of A.B. (‘Banjo’) Paterson’s poetry.
Bevan O’Regan, Narrabri Councillor – Photo Kate Ausburn - See more at: http://nofibs.com.au/2014/01/24/maverick-narrabri-councillor-bevan-oregan-certain-style-country-bloke-leardblockade/#comment-6117 They are generally men of honour, highly-principled, determined and exhibit a marvellous knack of being able to achieve a goal in an unorthodox manner.
They are simply spoken, clever and known to get the job done.
They have a deep love of the land and are keen judges of horseflesh and other stock. They are masters of understatement, usually possess a wicked sense of humour and have a questionable tolerance for the status quo. They also believe deeply in a fair go.
Bevan O’Regan is of this ilk.
As a child I competed many times in pony club events where Bevan, an active community member, was the President of the Narrabri Pony Club.
He was a stickler for rules, worked passionately at all levels and did many jobs others avoided.
Rosemary Nankivell is a Liverpool Plains farmer who is concerned about the protection of farmland and water resources. - See more at:There was a generally feeling for those of us from competing clubs that Bevan was ‘the man’ – Mr Narrabri in fact. As such, we pony club members were keen to keep a distance.
on the edge of the NAMOI RIVER
Therefore, it was with trepidation that I found myself sitting alongside Bevan at a federal inquiry into the impacts of coal seam gas extraction in the Murray-Darling Basin, held within Narrabri’s Crossing Theatre forty years later.
Judging by the twinkle in his eye, he was clearly amused to see me there. However, as we both shared a love of the land and deep concerns about the impacts of the extractive industries on the water resources of this region, the day improved quickly.
One of his quotes – “an aquifer knows no boundaries” – has stayed with me ever since.
Narrabri, a pretty country town in a comfortable agricultural region, is experiencing the challenges of adapting to the development of coal and coal seam gas industries.
The power of mining interests, hand-in-hand with a compliant and largely unquestioning council, have resulted in the community losing its faith in due process and questioning the transparency of the council and its actions.
Many perceive Narrabri Council as a tool for the mining interests and, increasingly, as a vehicle for those council members with political aspirations.
It is not surprising, then, that at the recent council elections, Cr O’Regan won the majority of primary votes, far outpolling the sitting mayor.Councillors such as Bevan O’Regan, who are genuinely trying to serve the people, are a welcome change.
http://nofibs.com.au/2014/01/24/maverick-narrabri-councillor-bevan-oregan-certain-style-country-bloke-leardblockade/#comment-6117
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