That petition was deemed not to comply with the Local Government Act and subsequently failed, so the association is now collecting signatures on two petitions that do comply.

The call for the boundary change was supported by Inverell Shire Council, which wanted to have the matter finalised prior to the September 10 local government election. That now seems unlikely to happen, which means Tingha will have no say in who they are represented by at a local level. 

So the association has gone back to square one.

Not only must it show that Tingha residents want to become part of Inverell, it must also demonstrate acceptance of the changes by the Inverell community with two petitions signed by at least 10 per cent of residents in both townships.

The petition requiring Inverell signatures can be found at Freckles Cafe, The Linking Together Centre, the Inverell Public Library, IGA Inverell, Vital Health and the New England Credit Union. It can also be signed at the Yetman General Store, Ashford Central School and Ashford General Store, the Delungra Hotel and the Gilgai Post Office.

Mrs Graham said people should remember that one petition requires signatures from Tingha residents, while the second needs to be signed by Inverell residents. 

Association members hoped to collect the required number of signatures by mid-July, and have taken to the streets of Inverell, outside the New England Credit Union, to do so.

“We’re getting a far better result than we expected,” she said.

“The amount of people that stop and sign the petition has made us feel really good. 

“The huge majority of people are saying they thought Tingha already belonged to Inverell.”