Mayoral Column - Wednesday 30 June

REFUGEE WEEK CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY

Last Thursday I was privileged to help mark International Refugee Week at a special citizenship ceremony at Cooma Council Chambers.

I’ve said it many times before, but it bears repeating: the Snowy Monaro owes a great deal to migrants and refugees that have settled here over the decades.

It is always an honour welcoming new citizens to our country and our community.

It was a particularly special occasion for one young boy, who not only received citizenship along with his mother and father, but celebrated his birthday that same day.

Congratulations to all.

TOWARDS 2042 COMMUNITY STRATEGIC PLAN

You may have read or heard about this new project out for public comment. The Towards 2042 Community Strategic Plan puts into words what we as a region and as a community are aspiring to over the next 20 years.

As we have found out in the last few years, however, these aspirations can come and go depending on the events of the world and our local area – including, COVID, the SAP, bushfires and floods.

I encourage everyone to have their say and help shape this important initiative. Council is working on this in conjunction with the Canberra Region Joint Organisation.

EXTRAORDINARY COUNCIL MEETING

A special council meeting was called for Monday 28 June 2021 to approve Council’s 12 month Operational Plan, as well as the allocation of our Donations and Sponsorships funding. As I write this column on Friday, I am looking forward to another productive meeting with my fellow Councillors.

JINDABYNE SPECIAL ACTIVATION PRECINCT (SAP)

We as a Council are looking forward to hearing the community feedback on the detailed SAP draft masterplan which was released on Monday this week by the state government.

Once again everyone is encouraged to get involved and comment on the plans and proposals. This will not just impact the people in the immediate SAP area, but everyone in our local government area stands to be affected by what this plan entails. This initiative will have a bearing on our entire region.

COVID-19

As we are all aware there is a COVID outbreak across many areas of Sydney and beyond. As we have seen it can spread quickly to other areas – including ours – especially at this time of year with the enormous influx of tourist numbers. Please be COVID Safe and remain vigilant. An outbreak at this time in our area would be a disaster for our tourist industry. Many of our local business operators have been severely affected by the departure of many guests over the weekend and further booking cancellations. The impact on our economy from this is again being felt far and wide.