This is ludicrous 
Now I work at Inverell Sale Yards every Tuesday, and knowing what money is made from cattle and sheep sales, there needs to be more allocated to Armidale Sale Yards because we are a farming region. ARC already walked away from having sheep sales which has become a big win for Guyra. But if they actually had put the funding for the Rail Trail into opening up the Guyra Abattoir again for sheep, then it would have brought major income to council jobs to our area, and the ease of getting sheep from the Guyra Sale Yards would have been so beneficial.
Now, getting away from the farming sector, we see the low amount being put towards the CBD Vibrancy and Investment attraction in our Local Government Area (LGA), the Armidale Business Chamber, and other vital sectors in our LGA and it is really a bad look and handling of the ARC budget.
There is a lot that could be done in Guyra too. Our roads are a disgrace, yet we see $1.5 million wasted on the preliminary stage of the Rail Trail. 
We have a house and rental crisis in our LGA but no indication of the value they want to put into that. Job security in our LGA is pathetic, and if we compare Armidale to Inverell and Tamworth, then we all can see that there is nothing attractive about Armidale at all!
Since Guyra was forced to amalgamate with Armidale, Guyra has certainly not boomed. It is nothing like it was back in the 80’s and 90’s. Also with the NSW and Federal Budgets small businesses are just being hammered more and are getting no support. This budget that ARC has set will just make it harder for small businesses in Armidale and Guyra.
I had a conversation with a local the other day about jobs, and the cost of living, and the sad reality of all of this is that there is nothing here for our younger generation to keep them here. Which is sad. But a lot of young ones are leaving to find work elsewhere.
So the ARC have really dropped the ball on the management of our LGA.
Lynn Taylor
Guyra Resident
1-jul-2026