Barnaby Joyce moved the agency to Armidale in 2016 but now Canberra wants it back

Noting the recently released Strategic Review of the APVMA, which was commissioned by Minister Watt and found significant issues with the culture and management of the organisation, Cr Coupland said Armidale was not to blame for the issues at the APVMA and should not be made the scapegoat for a decision that will hurt the local economy.

"Ultimately, the minister's decision as to the location of the APVMA will speak volumes about his commitment to regional Australia," Cr Coupland said in a media statement.

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Cr Coupland has appealed for the federal government to keep the authority where it is and to consider the 'daily lives, incomes and families' of those doing amazing work'.

"If he (Minister Watt) opts for an about-face and drags the APVMA back to Canberra it won't just be the lives and livelihoods of the employees that he impacts, but the message will be one of re-centralisation and abandoning the regions."

The AVMPA currently employs 150 people, many of whom have relocated from other areas, but there are also those who are from the local area, have raised families in the region and have graduated from the University of New England.

Cr Coupland points out that relocating the agency back to Canberra will have a knock-on effect within the Armidale community that could prove catastrophic.

"It potentially means that with those job losses, we will also experience job losses in the teaching sector and in the health sector and the economic activity that comes with those losses will be felt by the wider community."

The APVMA is the federal government agency responsible for approving the registration of pesticides and other agricultural and veterinary chemicals.

It is also responsible for reviewing the registration of these chemicals if health or environmental issues are raised in scientific studies or by other regulators.

The authority was moved from Canberra to Armidale by former Agricultural Minister, and New England MP, Barnaby Joyce in 2016 and the move was seen by Joyce as an 'exemplar for decentralisation and the signalling of a 'new era for rural and regional Australia'.

The agency's culture and performance have been under intense scrutiny since its relocation less than 10 years ago and the review commissioned by Mr Watt was sparked following assault allegations mentioned in a senate estimates hearing in November.

Cr Coupland believes the authority's issues could be addressed without the need for relocation.

"To blame a township on mismanagement within an organisation, and then to punish that community in the process Is ludicrous," Cr Coupland said.

"I challenge the government to come up with a regional Australian community which is better suited to being host to the APVMA."

The review is expected to be completed by September 30, but Cr Coupland says the Armidale community should not be left wondering.

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