Central Darling Shire Council has taken a crucial step toward planning its future by appointing consultants to develop a community strategic plan that will guide decision making and set priorities for the decade ahead.

The decision to engage external expertise for this vital planning process reflects the importance of getting the community strategic plan right and the specialised skills required to facilitate meaningful community engagement across such a vast and diverse shire.

A community strategic plan is far more than just another council document.

It represents the community's shared vision for the future, identifying aspirations and priorities across all aspects of community life including economic development, social wellbeing, environmental sustainability, infrastructure and services.

This ten-year plan will shape council decision making throughout its term and beyond, influencing budget priorities, service delivery and long-term investments.

The Local Government Act requires councils to prepare and adopt a community strategic plan that reflects community aspirations and sets out key strategic directions.

For Central Darling, emerging from 12 years of administration, this planning process takes on added significance as the first real opportunity for communities to collectively articulate what they want for their shire's future.

The consultants appointed will need to design and implement a comprehensive engagement process that reaches across Central Darling's scattered communities.

Menindee, Wilcannia, Ivanhoe, White Cliffs, Tilpa and Sunset Strip each have distinct characters, challenges and priorities that must all be heard and reflected in the final plan.

Effective community engagement in such a geographically dispersed shire requires creativity and commitment.

Face-to-face consultations in each town remain important, giving residents the opportunity to speak directly with the consultants and council representatives.

However, this traditional approach needs to be supplemented with online surveys, phone interviews and other methods that accommodate the realities of remote living, where travelling to a community meeting might mean hours on unsealed roads.

The strategic planning process must also ensure that diverse voices within each community are heard.

Aboriginal residents, long-term locals, recent arrivals, business owners, farmers, young people, seniors and community group representatives all bring different perspectives and priorities. A truly representative community strategic plan requires input from across this spectrum, not just the usual suspects who always turn up to consultation processes.

The consultants will need to help the community think beyond immediate concerns and consider longer-term trends and challenges facing Central Darling.

Climate change impacts, population decline, aging infrastructure, economic transition, changing agricultural practices, water security and service delivery in an era of constrained budgets all need to be on the table for honest discussion.

At the same time, the plan must remain grounded in reality. Community aspirations need to be balanced against financial capacity, regulatory constraints and practical limitations.

The consultants' role includes helping participants understand what's achievable and guiding the conversation toward priorities that are both meaningful and realistic.

The community strategic plan will need to acknowledge Central Darling's unique characteristics and the challenges inherent in delivering services across Australia's largest local government area.

Distance, isolation, limited population, harsh climate, aging infrastructure and socioeconomic disadvantage in some communities all shape what's possible and what strategies might work.

The plan must also recognise the shire's strengths and opportunities.

Rich Aboriginal cultural heritage, stunning natural landscapes, resilient communities, agricultural potential, mining activities, tourism possibilities and the determination of residents who choose to make their lives in this challenging environment all represent assets to build upon.

Previous strategic planning occurred during the administration period, but documents developed without genuine community input and ownership inevitably lack the legitimacy and buy-in that comes from authentic engagement.

This new planning process offers the chance to reset, to involve communities meaningfully and to create a shared vision that people actually believe in and will work toward.

The delivery program and operational plan that flow from the community strategic plan will translate long-term aspirations into concrete actions and priorities for the council's four-year term and the year ahead respectively.

These documents must align with the strategic plan while also reflecting financial realities and statutory obligations.

The consultants will work closely with council staff who bring detailed knowledge of current operations, past initiatives, regulatory requirements and practical constraints.

This collaboration between external facilitation expertise and internal operational knowledge should produce a plan that is both visionary and implementable.

Community engagement around the strategic plan also provides an opportunity for the new council to demonstrate its commitment to listening and responding to community input.

How the consultation process is conducted, how feedback is incorporated and how the council responds to community priorities will send important signals about the kind of governance residents can expect.

The timeline for developing the plan is tight, with adoption required by June 30, 2026 to meet statutory deadlines.

The consultants will need to move quickly to design the engagement process, conduct consultations, analyse feedback, draft the plan, facilitate further community input on the draft and prepare the final document for council adoption.

For Central Darling communities, the strategic planning process represents the first real opportunity in more than a decade to shape their shire's direction.

Whether residents feel their participation was genuine and their input valued will significantly influence their relationship with the new council and their faith in the democratic process.

The community strategic plan that emerges from this process will be judged not just by its content but by how it was created and whether communities feel genuine ownership of the vision and priorities it contains.

Getting this right matters enormously for the legitimacy and effectiveness of the new council and for rebuilding trust in local democracy after years of administration.