Housing & planning · Orange City Council
Six Orange councillors declare links to school tree, development and funding matters
The declarations included family connections to Orange Anglican Grammar School, a home near the 8 Connemara Drive development site and memberships of local clubs involved in donation requests.
Reporting from public council minutes. How this article was prepared
Six Orange City councillors declared non-pecuniary interests in matters before the council on 1 September, including a school tree-removal request that passed 7-4 and a development application for 8 Connemara Drive.
Cr S Peterson and Cr M Ruddy declared non-significant interests in the Orange Anglican Grammar School matter because they each had a child attending the school. Cr M McDonell also declared an interest, citing her nearby residence and extended family attending the school.
The council then permitted the school to remove an 18-metre mature Southern Blue Gum in a children’s play area because of safety concerns raised by the school. The resolution requires six replacement trees within the school grounds. It also requires a suitable replacement, determined in conjunction with Council’s Manager City Presentation, to be planted in the tree’s place using at least 100-litre advanced stock sourced within the Orange region.
It also requires the tree’s wood to be harvested and appropriately treated for reuse in manufacture, then made available free of charge to the community. The resolution passed with seven votes in favour and four against. Cr Peterson and Cr Ruddy voted for it, while Cr McDonell voted against it.
Cr McDonell separately declared a non-significant interest in the development application at 8 Connemara Drive because she lives nearby. Her declaration on a small-donation request referred to previous performance in an orchestra.
Cr G Judge declared a significant non-pecuniary interest in another donation request because he is president of Orange Centrals Cricket Club and players from the club were involved in the event. Cr G Power and Mayor T Mileto declared non-significant interests in a Gnoo Blas Classic Car Club donation request because they are members.
The declarations record reported connections, not findings of wrongdoing. The supplied minutes do not state how the councillors participated in the development or donation items after making their declarations, or record the outcomes of those items.
What deserves a closer look
The school resolution passed despite declared interests appearing on both sides of the vote. The minutes do not explain the basis for individual votes.
The record identifies the declarations and the school-item result, but does not provide participation or outcome details for the development and donation matters in the supplied record.
Questions for follow-up reporting
Did any councillors who declared interests leave or abstain during the development and donation items?
What were the recorded outcomes of the 8 Connemara Drive and donation matters?
If the school proceeds with removal, when will it remove the tree and plant the required replacements?
What happens next
The school tree-removal resolution requires six replacement trees to be planted within the school grounds.
The resolution requires the school to arrange harvesting and treatment of the tree's wood for reuse and make it available free to the community. A suitable replacement must be determined with Council's Manager City Presentation and planted in the tree's place using minimum 100-litre advanced stock sourced within the Orange region.
Check the record
These passages were matched to the source text. Read them in context in the original minutes.
Peterson, Ruddy and McDonell declared non-significant non-pecuniary interests in the Orange Anglican Grammar School tree matter: Peterson and Ruddy each had a child attending, while McDonell lived nearby and had extended family attending.
ORDINARY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 1 SEPTEMBER 2026 Page 2 1.3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Mayor conducted an Acknowledgement of Country. 1.4 DECLARATION OF PECUNIARY INTERESTS, SIGNIFICANT NON-PECUNIARY INTERESTS AND LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT NON-PECUNIARY INTERESTS Cr Peterson declared a Non-Significant Non-Pecuniary Interest in Item 4.2 - Notice of Motion - Tree Removal Request - Orange Anglican Grammar School as he has a child that attends the school. Cr Ruddy declared a Non-Significant Non-Pecuniary Interest in Item 4.2 - Notice of Motion - Tree Removal Request - Orange Anglican Grammar School as she has a child that attends the school. Cr McDonell declared a Non-Significant Non-Pecuniary Interest in Item 4.2 - Notice of Motion - Tree Removal Request - Orange Anglican Grammar School as she resides nearby and has extended family that attends the school.
Declarations of interest for Item 4.2
Open original minutes ↗McDonell declared a non-significant non-pecuniary interest in the 8 Connemara Drive development application because she resides nearby, and separately declared the same category of interest in a donation request because of previous performance in an orchestra.
Cr McDonell declared a Non-Significant Non-Pecuniary Interest in PDC Item 2.3 - Development Application DA 152/20261) - 8 Connemara Drive as she resides nearby. Cr McDonell declared a Non-Significant Non-Pecuniary Interest in FPC Item 2.1-2(c) - Small Donations - Requests for Donations as she has previously performance in the orchestra.
PDC Item 2.3 and FPC Item 2.1-2(c)
Open original minutes ↗Judge declared a significant non-pecuniary interest in a donation request because he was president of Orange Centrals Cricket Club, whose players were involved in the event. Power and Mileto declared non-significant non-pecuniary interests in another donation request because they were members of Gnoo Blas Classic Car Club.
Cr Judge declared a Significant Non-Pecuniary Interest in FPC Item 2.1-2(i) - Small Donations - Requests for Donations as he is the President of Orange Centrals Cricket Club that has players involved in the event. Cr Power declared a Non-Significant Non-Pecuniary Interest in FPC Item 2.1-2(k) - Small Donations - Requests for Donations as he is a member of Gnoo Blas Classic Car Club. Cr Mileto declared a Non-Significant Non-Pecuniary Interest in FPC Item 2.1-2(k) - Small Donations - Requests for Donations as he is a member of Gnoo Blas Classic Car Club.
FPC Items 2.1-2(i) and 2.1-2(k)
Open original minutes ↗Council permitted Orange Anglican Grammar School to remove an 18-metre mature Southern Blue Gum in a children's play area because of the school's safety concerns. The resolution requires six replacement trees within the grounds, harvesting and treatment of the wood for manufacture, free community access to the wood, and a suitable replacement determined with Council's Manager City Presentation using minimum 100-litre advanced stock sourced within the Orange region.
RESOLVED - 26/496 Cr S Peterson/Cr K Duffy 1 That the Orange Anglican Grammar School be permitted to remove a 18m tall mature Southern Blue Gum (Eucalyptus Globulus ) tree located in a children's play area due to safety concerns from the school 2 That six (6) replacement trees be planted within the school grounds 3 That Orange Anglican Grammar School ensure a process is implemented to ensure that the wood from the tree is harvested and appropriately treated to enable it to be reused for manufacture 4 That the wood be made available free of charge to the community; and 5 That a suitable replacement be determined in conjunction with Council's Manager City Presentation to be planted in its place and such replacement is to be a minimum 100L advanced stock sourced within the Orange Region.
Resolution 26/496, Item 4.2
Open original minutes ↗The voting list records seven votes in favour and four against, with Peterson and Ruddy voting for and McDonell voting against.
For: Cr T Greenhalgh (Deputy Mayor), Cr K Duffy, Cr G Judge, Cr F Kinghorne, Cr S Peterson, Cr M Ruddy, Cr J Stedman Against: Cr T Mileto (Mayor), Cr D Mallard, Cr M McDonell, Cr G Power Absent: Cr J Whitton *Cr Judge left the meeting with the time being 10.16pm* 5 GENERAL REPORTS 5.1 DISABILITY INCLUSION ACTION PLAN 2026-2030 - POST-EXHIBITION TRIM REFERENCE: 2026/1273 RESOLVED - 26/497 Cr D Mallard/Cr G Power That Council adopt the Blayney Cabonne Orange Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2026-2030.
Vote following Resolution 26/496
Open original minutes ↗Source record
Reporting from the public minutes of Orange City Council’s ordinary meeting held on 1 September 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- Peterson, Ruddy and McDonell declared interests in the Orange Anglican Grammar School tree-removal matter.
- McDonell declared an interest in the 8 Connemara Drive development application because she lived nearby.
- Judge declared a significant non-pecuniary interest in a donation request involving players from Orange Centrals Cricket Club, which he led as president.
- Power and Mayor Mileto declared interests in a Gnoo Blas Classic Car Club donation request because they were club members.
- The school tree-removal resolution passed 7-4, with Peterson and Ruddy voting for it and McDonell voting against it.
Why it matters
- The declarations give residents a public record of councillors’ family, neighbourhood and club connections to matters involving a school, a development site and community funding requests. The school resolution also places conditions on replacement planting and community access to the tree’s timber.