G'day Dungog Shire. This week, we had our Ordinary Council Meeting so I thought I'd focus this video mostly on the outcomes of that monthly meeting.
I'll kick it off with one of the most important things that came out of the meeting: the Chichester Dam Road funding. A few months ago, Council wrote to the Minister of Roads asking for funding outside the normal business-as-usual programs, to help maintain Chichester Dam Road. We argued that this isn't just another local road. It's the primary access route to Chichester Dam, which supplies drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people across the Hunter. Hunter Water also wrote a really good support letter requesting funding and acknowledging the importance of the road as its key access point to the infrastructure it has up there. Unfortunately, the Minister's response was that no additional funding is available and that Council should continue applying through the usual funding program. So, in other words, business as usual. Now, to be honest, this is incredibly disappointing because for Dungog Shire, business as usual seems to mean accepting significant funding inequality. Chichester Dam is a state asset that generates significant revenue through Hunter Water. Now, because it's a renewable asset, being water, there aren't the mining-style royalties flowing back into our community. And I'm not suggesting there should be, but our argument is surely that it's reasonable for some of the revenue generated by that massive piece of infrastructure to be reinvested in the infrastructure that supports it, starting with the roads that provide access to the dam. Hunter Water is currently investing millions of dollars in upgrading the infrastructure at Chichester Dam, and that's a fantastic investment for the Hunter region. But those upgrades still rely on Chichester Dam Road to move workers and heavy equipment. There's so much that goes up that road every single day, and if we don't invest in the road that services the dam, we also put all those investments and all those maintenance works they're doing at risk.
The road is also access to a state park, being Barrington, and also access to state logging industry as well. So this isn't just a Dungog issue. Hundreds of thousands of people rely on the water supplied by Chichester Dam every single day. Yet one of the smallest councils in New South Wales is expected to carry the entire burden of maintaining the road that services, and it's just simply not sustainable. So the Mayor has made it clear that the door is very much still open. He's willing to meet with the Minister again, and hopefully he will be very shortly to discuss this issue more. And I fully support that approach. But what we need out of it is more than just another business-as-usual response. We need a funding model that recognises the importance of Chichester Dam Road, not just to Dungog Shire, but to the people across the Hunter who rely on that water every single day. A few months ago, I was at New South Wales Parliament, and I was listening to the Premier speak about how much revenue the state of New South Wales generates for the federal government, but New South Wales is currently getting completely ripped off with its GST returns back from the federal government when compared to Victoria. There's a considerable disparity. I was sitting there listening to the Premier say how much he makes for the federal government, and how little funding New South Wales is getting at the moment, and I couldn't help but think, this is what local government is saying to you every single day, we do not have enough money for funding. So it's a massive issue. Hopefully, something comes out of that. Stay posted. The Mayor's on a warpath with it, so hopefully he gets a good result. He's currently fighting a few battles, so we'll see how he goes with it all.
Moving on, Council also received a 24-hour caravan and RV parking site assessment report. This is off the back of a Motion of Notice I submitted a few months ago. Something that I've been advocating for over the past year, and there's still a little bit more work to do. But it's another important step forward to providing safe overnight options for visitors. Supporting RV tourism means supporting our local cafes, pubs, our shops, and small businesses in general, and by increasing travelers' time in the shire, encouraging them to spend more money in our communities rather than just driving through. So that has identified a few key sites that might be suitable for additional 24-hour camping, and we'll just see what comes out of that next step there.
Council also endorsed the Essential Public Access Restoration Program Project Plan, which will guide the delivery of approximately $8 million in Disaster Recovery works across our roads, drainage, and public infrastructure. After the number of disasters that we've experienced over recent years, getting these projects delivered remains the number one priority at the moment.
Several planning matters were also considered. This included development applications at Martins Creek and one at Bandon Grove, as well as approving new road names in Clarence Town and East Gresford. Council also confirmed the naming of the playing field at Vacy Sports Ground to Keith and Leslie Miles Oval, following community consultation. It's a fitting recognition of two people who have made an enormous contribution to the community and local sport over many years. So it's a good outcome.
Another important item was the adoption of the Agency Information Guide. This helps Council ensure it continues to meet its obligations around transparency and access to information, which is a big one, especially for community members. We also placed a new Draft Grants Management Policy on Exhibition, which aims to strengthen how Council manages grant funding and delivers better outcomes for our community. There is now something that will provide a little bit of structure to how Council gives out grants to the community. Up until now, there really hasn't been any assessment criteria or proper structure to that, so it's a good step forward.
Council also appointed a new community member to The James Theatre Community Centre Management Committee. As many of you know, the James Theatre is one of the Shire's most important community cultural assets, and its history is equally important, so it's great to see more volunteers stepping up to help guide its future. They are also getting record numbers of people through the doors, so that requires a large group of volunteers behind the scenes doing all that work. It's good to see the committee back up to full strength.
In the confidential session, Council awarded a new legal services contract, approved amendments to the Regional Plant and Equipment Hire contracts, considered a loan deferral request from Dungog & District Tennis Association, which was passed, and approved the acquisition of land for a new Wallarobba Rural Fire Services shed. The few things that are confidential go in the confidential section because they have money amounts in contracts and that kind of thing, so they have to be confidential. But you can still see all the outcomes. I think that's pretty much the key things from the council meeting.
Expressions of Interest are currently open for the Access and Inclusion Committee being stood up by Council. If you think Dungog Shire could provide better access for people with disabilities, or could be better at access and inclusion in general, which it certainly could be, and if you want to be a part of shaping that, we encourage you to apply. Just head over to the website or Facebook page to apply. As always, if you'd like to read the full agenda, all the meeting minutes are available on the Dungog Shire Council website.
Thanks for watching. If you have any questions, please feel free to hit me up or pop it in the comments below. Have a good weekend everyone. Thanks.
