Wagga's decision to cut ties with China could lead to first official council apology

An extraordinary council meeting to be held on Wednesday will see a push to rescind the motion passed this week to sever all ties with China.

The resolution, which was conceived by Councillor Paul Funnell, resulted in a fierce backlash from people at a local, national and international level.

Mayor Greg Conkey, who was absent from this week's meeting due to ill health, will also push for councillors to approve a formal letter of apology to Wagga's sister city Kunming and the wider People's Republic of China.

In his report to council outlining the need to apologise, Cr Conkey wrote that, as the 44th mayor of Wagga, he doubted "any mayor has needed to write a report such as the report I bring to you now".

"I totally and absolutely regret the damage that has been caused by this decision, it will take a long time to repair," he told The Daily Advertiser.

"I am certainly hoping an apology will be well received, I have written to the mayor of Kunming [on] Thursday to keep him briefed on our hopes of rescission and am led to believe he will respond today or tomorrow."

Cr Conkey said the damage caused could have a lasting impact.

"This incident does not only impact us in relation to Kunming, but the entire international community," he said.

"We are currently seeking international involvement and cooperation with the Bomen special activation precinct, so the ramifications of this could be enormous and the message we have sent will not look good for a city trying to expand their international horizons."

Fellow Cr Yvonne Braid was one of three who voted in favour of severing ties to China, but ahead of the new vote to both rescind and apologise, said she felt more research was needed.

"At this point in time, we need to double check things, and we have until Wednesday to do so," she said.

"I am waiting to see how the people of Wagga react and what they have to say, so my opinion and vote will depend on that."

Cr Braid said the issue was not as simple as taking back what has been done.

"It's not to say what has been done is right or wrong, but more thought needs to be put into this," she said.

Cr Conkey said he was confident the rescission motion would pass at Wednesday's meeting.

"It has been indicated that those initially against the motion will support the rescission, and Cr Koschel has also indicated he will now too, so I am confident we will have at least five votes," he said.