Regional & Economic Development Policy Committee - 3 Mar 2026 6:00 PM

Topics

• Council changes quorum rule for economic development committee
  Council has amended the committee charter so five industry/community representatives and one councillor can form a quorum.
  This changes how the committee can operate and may affect the pace of local economic development decisions.
• Think Orange website to be replaced with new resident and business support section
  Council is decommissioning the Think Orange site and moving information to a new live support section and main website statistics area.
  Residents and businesses will need to use different online channels to access local support and information.

Decisions

• Adopted Economic Development Community Committee minutes
  Council acknowledged the reports presented to the committee on 11 February 2026 and adopted the remainder of those minutes.
  Confirms the committee’s recent actions have been formally received by Council.
• Changed quorum rule for the Economic Development Community Committee
  Council adopted the recommendation to amend the committee charter so that a quorum requires five industry/community representatives and one Councillor.
  Alters how the committee can make decisions and may affect how quickly local economic development matters are progressed.

Discussion

• Think Orange website decommissioning
  A councillor asked why the Think Orange website was being decommissioned. Staff said the infrastructure was old and that a live New Resident and Business Support section will replace it, with a dedicated location for statistics and information on the main website.
  Residents and businesses will use different online channels for local support and information.

Impacts

• Economic development committee decisions may be made under a new quorum arrangement.
• Information for new residents and businesses will move from Think Orange to a new online support section.
• Council will maintain a dedicated area on its main website for statistics and information.

Places

• Orange (town)
  Council meeting location and the area served by the committee and website changes.
• Civic Centre, Byng Street (facility)
  Venue where the committee met.

Next

• Amend the Economic Development Community Committee Charter to reflect the new quorum rule
  Following Council resolution
• Transition information from the Think Orange website to the new resident and business support section
  As implemented by staff
• Provide a dedicated statistics and information area on the main Council website
  As part of the website change

Extract

MINUTES OF THE REGIONAL & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY COMMITTEE HELD IN COUNCIL CHAMBER, CIVIC CENTRE, BYNG STREET, ORANGE ON 3 MARCH 2026 COMMENCING AT 7:51PM 1 INTRODUCTION ATTENDANCE Cr T Mileto (Mayor)(Chairperson), Cr T Greenhalgh (Deputy Mayor), Cr K Duffy, Cr G Judge, Cr F Kinghorne, Cr D Mallard, Cr M McDonell, Cr S Peterson, Cr G Power, Cr M Ruddy, Cr J Stedman, Cr J Whitton Chief Executive Officer, Director Corporate & Commercial Services, Acting Director Community, Recreation & Cultural Services (Stanford), Acting Director Technical Services (Theakstone), Chief Financial Officer, Manager Corporate Governance, Governance Officer (Robinson) 1.1 APOLOGIES AND LEAVE OF ABSENCE Nil. 1...