Mayoral Column - Wednesday 18 March

You can well and truly feel the autumn weather in the air throughout the Snowy Monaro. This change in the weather coincides with the end of our outdoor swimming pool season, with closures to commence from this weekend. Adaminaby, Berridale and Bombala pools will have their last day of the season on Saturday 21 March. While Cooma pool will have its last day of the season on Tuesday 31 March.

We were fortunate to have two local Show's entertain and delight guests over the weekend, with the Cooma Show being held on Saturday and a mini version of the Nimmitabel Show going ahead on Sunday. While some commented that crowd numbers were down from last year, a good time was had by all and I congratulate organisers on a job well done.

I, like so many of you, was saddened to hear that other local events weren't quite so lucky. With the Cooma Multicultural Festival and Bombala Show, among the few most recent local events to be cancelled or postponed due to the Government imposed restrictions around large gathers in lieu of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

And while I'm sure many of you will be disappointed by this and the continued number of cancelled events that are sure to come in the following weeks, I encourage you all to follow advice from qualified health professionals, NSW Health, the Australian Government Department of Health and appropriate State and Commonwealth Chief Health Officers. These prevention measures are in place to minimise the risk to our countries most vulnerable residents.

These event restrictions, along with the two-week self-isolation for all those arriving in Australia, will no doubt add to already challenging times for local tourism operators and small business owners.

Council has played host to the Local Government NSW Tourism Conference in Jindabyne this week. The LGNSW recognises the challenges many councils throughout NSW are facing with the devastating bushfires, floods and now the Coronavirus. With this in mind, the conference focused on the recovery and planning for natural disasters as one of its major topics.

Our March Council meeting will go ahead on Thursday from 5pm in Jindabyne. At this stage, the meeting is still open to the public. The meeting will be live-streamed via Council's website for those who wish to watch from the comfort of their homes.

Councillor Peter Beer Mayor of Snowy Monaro Regional Council