Moree Plains Shire Council General Manager Natalia Cowley has resigned, ending a 15-month tenure that delivered significant financial and organisational reform.
Ms Cowley, an award-winning local government leader, will take up a new role as General Manager at Cessnock City Council, where she is expected to help steer the financially challenged council back toward sustainability. She will remain in her current role until 18 June.
During her time in Moree Plains, Council credited Ms Cowley with restoring financial stability, progressing long-delayed projects including the Aquatic Centre an Memorial Hall, and driving cultural change within the organisation.
“It has been an absolute privilege to serve the Moree Plains community and to work alongside the Mayor, Councillors, staff, community groups and contractors over the past 15 months,” Ms Cowley said.
“This is a community with enormous heart, resilience and potential and I feel genuinely grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute.”
Ms Cowley said the decision to step down was driven by a return to the Hunter region to be closer to family, alongside the opportunity to lead her home local government area.
“I’m proud of what we have achieved together as part of our refocus, reset and renew strategy, from restoring financial sustainability and resetting the capital works program, to reopening long-overdue community assets and strengthening accountability across the organisation,” she said.
Her appointment to Cessnock comes as that council faces significant financial challenges, including more than $8 million in debt and seeking a proposed 39.9 per cent rate rise for the 2026–27 financial year, subject to approval by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, to fill the gap. The rate rise is bitterly opposed by many in the community and caused significant discord between councillors.
A 2025 financial review by the University of Newcastle found Cessnock City Council had been under sustained financial pressure for years, warning that delaying corrective action was no longer viable.
Ms Cowley brings a strong track record in financial recovery, having previously led one of the largest turnarounds in NSW local government at Central Coast Council and returning multiple councils to surplus while improving service delivery and organisational culture.
Cessnock Mayor Dan Watton welcomed her appointment.
“As a council and a community, we’re undertaking an important journey towards financial sustainability. Natalia brings a track record of disciplined financial leadership with a strong focus on people and performance,” Cr Watton said.
“I look forward to working closely with her as we continue on this path.”
Moree Plains Shire Council Mayor Susannah Pearse said Ms Cowley would leave a lasting legacy in the Moree Plains.
“We are incredibly grateful to have had Natalia at the helm for the past 15 months. She is an adept GM who will leave the Moree Plains with a lasting legacy and with budgets, governance and integrity systems restored to strong levels,” Mayor Pearse said.
“The community has seen the impact of Natalia’s work first-hand, with projects that had been on the books for a long time finally brought to completion,” she said.
Cr Pearse said council understood Ms Cowley’s decision and wished her well.
“Undoubtedly, Natalia will leave behind a lasting impact on Council and the shire, and the many changes for the better she has implemented will continue to bear fruit well beyond her tenure,” she said.
Council will consider the process for recruiting a new general manager at its 21 May meeting.
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