Congratulations to Lisa Orchin (Ledingham, 84) who has recently been elected to the Moree Plains Shire Council.
Lisa will be a councillor for the period 2021-2024. Lisa has lived in the Moree Plains Shire her entire life and Lisa’s extended family have lived and worked in the area for over 130 years.
The Shire of Moree Plains is one of the largest local Government areas within NSW. Home to the Kamilaroi people, the Moree region is made up of a diverse range of people, with 80 different nationalities all calling Moree home. Moree Plains Shire has an abundant water supply and is one of the most agriculturally productive local government areas in Australia.
After graduating from KRB in 1984, Lisa completed a teaching degree and then returned to the Moree district. She taught in Moree for several years before moving to Weemelah to live on the family farm with her husband, Jason. Here, Lisa worked as the Business Manager; budgeting, planning, marketing and has been a successful agriculture business owner for the past 25 years.
During this time Lisa also became a founding member and board member of Grower Co which is a co-operative that aims to improve the farmgate return for farmers in Northern NSW. During her time on the board, she was involved in investigating the freight chain from farm to port, and how it could be made more efficient.
Lisa was motivated to run for council when her nearest town of Mungindi was badly affected by NSW/Queensland border shutdowns as a result of COVID 19 restrictions in 2020-2021. Mungindi is unique in that it is the only town in the southern hemisphere that crosses a border. Schools and shops are located on the NSW side of the border and the pre-school, fuel depot and hospital are all located on the Queensland side of the town. COVID 19 border closures created a very difficult time for residents of Mungindi and the surrounding areas.
Lisa is committed to promoting Mungindi, Garah, and Boomi in the broader community with a focus on key services such as road networks, market access, school transport and effective transport modes for all residents. Lisa’s focus will also be to attract more skilled people to the Moree district so that residents receive the best medical care, better education for children, more day care options and successful social and business centres that are prosperous and sustainable well into the future.
We wish Lisa every success in her endeavours as a newly elected Councillor !