General News
29 August, 2026
Fitting Farewell for former GM
David Neeves was farewelled from council on August 21, 2026
By Lucie Wightman
Community members, councillors and staff, gathered at the Gilgandra Golf Club on Friday, August 21, to celebrate outgoing Gilgandra Shire Council (GSC) general manager David Neeves as he prepares to take on his next leadership role as general manager of Mid-Western Regional Council in Mudgee.
The farewell event brought together family, friends, staff, and councillors to honour David’s 15 years of total service to the community, a tenure that included five years as director of environmental services followed by 10 as general manager.
Opening the speeches, interim general manager Kathryn Larkin compared David’s first annual report from 2016/17 with the council’s current standing, reflecting on the region’s stability and growth through challenges.
Kathryn noted that in his very first report to the community, David had reflected on two major weather events damaging unsealed roads. Since then, the shire has navigated “nine natural disaster events, six of which we received funding for, not to mention from floods to drought, mice plagues, and COVID,” said Kathryn.
She highlighted that the timber bridge replacement program kicked off under his leadership is “all but done by one bridge,” while staff numbers grew from 217 to 249 without losing the council’s “fit for the future” financial standing – avoiding council amalgamation.
Handing over the microphone, Kathryn shared a popular metaphor David often used to describe council operations: “the councillors are the captains who tell the ship where to go, and the council is the crew, they get the ship there”.
GSC mayor Doug Batten praised David for his leadership and ability to secure external funding for rural infrastructure, pointing out that rural communities cannot survive on a rate base alone.
Recalling an early meeting where David directly challenged state government policies on disaster relief funding, mayor Batten said: “Kevin Humphries [former state member] approached me and asked, ‘Where did you get him from?’ It was because David was in the ribs of the state government, questioning a line from his experience of disaster funding from Queensland. At that time, I thought, we as Gilgandra were on a winner. $15 million dollars in funding later, David proved me right.”
He also emphasised that David’s true legacy extends far beyond physical projects like the Coo-ee Heritage Centre, McGrane Oval upgrades, and new works depots.
“The main legacy for his time as general manager has not been the bricks and mortar,” mayor Batten said. “It is the quality and commitment of the staff he leaves behind to serve our community into the future”.
Acknowledging the complex work involved in regional council delivery, Doug added: “The old adage of eating an elephant one bite at a time certainly rings true, and David seems to have a liking for chewing on the elephants.”
Taking the microphone, David reflected warmly on his working relationship with mayor Batten, using his own signature analogy for local government leadership.
“I always describe it that a mayor and general manager is a bit like being Batman and Robin, and the mayor’s always Batman and I’m Robin,” he joked. “And it’s fitting, because Doug’s been an exceptional mayor.” David credited the stability of the elected councils over the last decade for enabling major, long-term developments to take shape, including local housing estates and industrial subdivisions. Addressing the room, he urged local community members to consider stepping up for the next council elections.
“What staff need is sound and constructive leadership, which the councils over the last 10 years have provided us,” he said. “It makes it easier for certainly myself as a general manager and our executive leadership team to push on and deliver projects, because we’re not worried about the shenanigans that often go on between some councils.”
“When you’ve got that stability within your business, you can start to plan for it and plan a long time in advance. A lot of what we’ve achieved now is what was conceived many, many years ago and it’s coming to fruition now.”
Reflecting on his proudest moments, Neeves pointed past the high-profile building projects to the council’s response during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, where council staff were responsible for over 100 elderly and vulnerable residents in care.
“I recall watching TV... thinking, me as a general manager, how am I going to make sure that we’ve done everything possible to be able to protect these people?” he recalled. “We’ve built some ‘sexy’ projects through our time, but that was one of the ones where I really reflect on to say, that was an amazing achievement, to protect the people in our care.”
“We’ve been fortunate to oversee a period of growth and the grant funding that we received, some of which was un-contestable, and a lot of it was contestable. We implemented really good processes within council to be able to deliver projects. So, when state or federal governments were looking at projects to hand out to different communities, there would be communities where councils would struggle to deliver, and then there was councils that could deliver. And I’m sure that weighed into their decisions to provide more money to Gilgandra than to other parts of the NSW.”
“Thank you to the councillors. We’ve shared some good times and out of the 100-odd council meetings I presided over, I can say that no one, never at any time has the discussion been disrespectful. It’s been robust, it’s been thoughtful, but never at any time was it disrespectful. And so, I think that goes a long way to your leadership Doug, and also to the councillors with the right intent to deliver for the community.”
David closed by thanking his wife, Catherine, and their four children, Grace, Katie, Darcy, and Jordan, acknowledging the sacrifices made by families of civic leaders.
Looking toward his transition to the Mid-Western Regional Council, David noted that Mudgee presents exciting new challenges, including major renewable energy developments and large-scale infrastructure projects.
“A new chapter for me is exciting. I will leave here with fond memories of the community, our achievements, the staff, and I’m looking forward to building some new memories and succeeding in what we do over there.”
