The NSW Government has announced that, as a result of the Covid-19 virus, local government elections across the state will be deferred from September 2020 to September 2021.

This doesn’t mean that the work of A Better Eurobodalla stops.

We are a community forum dedicated to having more open and inclusive local government in our region. So, our work will continue as we talk to community members about what is important for them and bring those issues to the attention of our elected representatives on Eurobodalla Shire Council.

Recently we have suffered through the terrible bushfires of the summer of 2019/20, and now we are living with Covid-19 in an area with severely limited hospital facilities and in a community which is only just starting to recover from the impact of the fires. This underscores the need for an open, accountable and competent local government which can help our community overcome these shocks.

The federal and state government bushfire reviews have now occurred, their reports have been released, and we will be monitoring how our governments respond to the recommendations contained in these widely informed, in-depth analyses.

There is also a very active ‘One Hospital’ campaign taking place in the Eurobodalla. This campaign is attempting to hold the state government to its commitment to provide a new Level Four hospital in our area. The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted that we have no dedicated intensive care facilities anywhere in the Eurobodalla local government area. Find them on Facebook to support this campaign.

At the same time, the NSW state government has recently undertaken community consultation regarding the proposed Moruya Bypass, and we will be monitoring future progress on this issue.

The above issues cover local, national and international concerns that matter to us. A Better Eurobodalla believes that local government has an important role to play in taking the concerns of its citizens to state and federal governments and fighting for this region.

Better Eurobodalla would like to hear your views on these and other issues that matter to our community. We would like to know what is important to you so we can take the collective community voice to our local government representatives and ask them to act on our behalf.

Please tell us what you think and let us know.