Mayoral Column - Wednesday 21 July

THURSDAY 16 JULY 2021 COUNCIL MEETING

Last week was the second-to-last Council meeting before the 2021 local government election in September. There was lively discussion and debate on a number of important matters:

DEMERGER OPINION POLL

There was a motion put forward that would have seen a question gauging public opinion on demerging the three former Councils from Snowy Monaro Regional Council that was narrowly voted down.

As I have said numerous times in the past, I personally don’t think a demerger is the right thing to do. This Council has not been around long enough for any true judgement of its success to be made.

Councillors had a range of ideas on how this could be handled – both for and against – and there’s no doubt there are people in the community who wish to see a demerger happen. Conversely, there are others across our local government area that would rather not see us demerge at the present time.

HOUSING AND SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE

Councillors voted to establish a new housing and social services committee, that will most likely come into operation under the new council after September.

This decision sets the tone for the new Council on the issues that our region faces with housing. Shortages and problems with housing in turn influence on our social services, education and all manner of family and community matters. It is vitally important we do what we can to address these problems.

We as a Council recognise this is an issue across most regional local government, but the additional pressure placed on our housing market by Snowy 2.0 and the influence of the Special Activation Precinct means the problem is more pressing than in other places.

ADAMINABY PARKING INFRASTRUCTURE

Council agreed to support proposed light vehicle parking upgrades in Adaminaby, but wish to have a reassessment and reconsideration of proposed truck parking. Deputy Mayor Miners highlighted concerns with the numbers of trucks able to be accommodated, as well as some issues he identified with the design itself.

RECLASSIFICATION OF AGED CARE LAND

As part of Council’s ongoing market-sounding process to find a new aged care provider for our region, Councillors considered the matter of reclassifying aged care land. If left as its current classification of “community use” we would be unable to proceed with any future expansion or transition of these facilities.

FINAL MAYORAL COLUMN BEFORE ELECTION

I extend my sincere thanks to everyone for all their help over my term as Mayor: Council staff and especially the people of the Snowy Monaro. Although we may agree to disagree from time to time, it has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve the community right across the region.

We’re now entering the regulated period before the election and this will be the last Mayoral Column for this Council term.

Thank you all, and don’t forget that the election is Saturday 4 September 2021. Please remember to vote to ensure that your voice is heard. Your Councillors are there to represent your community.