Message from the GM
The Kokoda Trail Remembrance day
ceremony on August 21 st was a wonderful
experience and it was an honour to be part
of the ceremony, hear about Archie
Murphy and our diggers from our country
who fought side by side with other
servicemen and yet did not receive the
same recognition. This will become an
annual event and full credit to Aunty
Phyllis Cubby, John Paul Young , Warren
Morgan and all those involved in putting
on a very moving and memorable
experience. Well done!
I would also like to extend congratulations
to the Brewarrina Central School Dance
group. Under the guidance of two of the
Central Schools teachers, Miss Morgan
and Miss Murphy, the group have been
practising hard and recently 7 girls were
selected to perform in the NSW Schools
Spectacular. This is a fantastic
achievement; it is not often you hear of
small outback schools being selected in
such programs, what a great feather in
their caps. I am looking forward to seeing
the School Spectacular aired on TV in
November.
Council has completed the annual
accounts ready for audit and overall the
results are pleasing with an operating
revenue before capital grants around
$1m , slightly less than the previous year,
but still sufficient to demonstrate that the
Council is financially sustainable and able
to cover its full operating costs from
revenue generated by grants and rates.
The cash position of Council has reduced
by around $2.3m to $9.7m however this is
largely attributed to a substantial invest-
ment in plant and equipment, road and
building construction. The number of
equivalent full time employees has
increased from 62 to 66 and yet the
overall cost of salary and wages has
reduced. This reflects the long terms
savings attributed to the staff restructure.
By flattening the management hierarchy,
Council has been able to increase staffing
in services and delivery at less cost.
Going forward, with over $17m in road
and bridge construction projects in
Goodooga alone, more resources will be
directed at delivering services for this
community. The success with advocacy for
this road and bridge funding is clearly
evident in the happy faces of those new
employees from Goodooga and with the
Store planning and funding announced and
the artesian baths completed, a bright
future is assured.
Council is most grateful to both the Com-
monwealth and State Government that
have enabled the council to complete
projects that will be of lasting benefit to
the community. Included are the follow-
ing projects completed with assistance
from the Federal Government’s Drought
Communities fund;
Airport Fencing; Constructed
animal proof fencing around the
airstrips at Brewarrina,
Weilmoringle and Goodooga.
Brewarrina Gun Club; Completed
improvements to facilities and
toilets.
Currawah College; Completed
upgrades to water treatment and
concrete paving of Basketball
court.
Showgrounds Tea Room;
Completed complete rebuild of
showgrounds tea rooms.
Goodooga Sporting Facilities;
Completed fencing and
renovation of change rooms and
amenities.
Road Safety Grid replacement
Program; Completed the
removal or replacement of unsafe
road grids.
Goodooga Artesian Bore Baths ;
Construction of a new bore baths
in Goodooga.
PUBLISHED BY
BREWARRINA SHIRE COUNCIL
GENERAL MANAGER: Jeff Sowiak
50 Bathurst St, Brewarrina NSW 2839
Phone: 02 6830 5152
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.brewarrina.nsw.gov.au
Postal Address: PO Box 125, Brewarrina NSW 2839
PRINT COPIES: Brewarrina Post Office, FoodWorks Supermarket,
Brewarrina Visitor Centre, Goodooga & Weilmoringle
Digital Subscriptions available at www.brewarrina.nsw.gov.au
P AGE 2
Brewarrina Youth Centre;
Replacement of the roof,
installation of disabled access
facilities and renovation of
bathrooms toilets and office space.
Memorial Hall; Upgrades to
air-conditioning and purchase of
sound system.
Walgett Road Rest Area;
Installation of toilets and parking
area.
Culgoa- disabled toilets,
fencing and upgraded facilities.
Under the State Government, Stronger
Country Communities Program, the
Brewarrina Swimming Pool amenities
were completely rebuilt, work was started
on the jockey’s room and plans for the
upgrade of the Geoff New Oval clubrooms
are underway.
The Mayor and I met with Mr Roy Butler
MP and The Hon Mark Coulton to thank
them for the funding that has been forth-
coming and their assistance with both past
and future grant programs.
In terms of road works, it has been
difficult to keep rural unsealed roads in
good condition due to lack of rain, as
water is essential for productive
outcomes , however every effort has been
made to keep the maintenance up and
carting water has unfortunately become a
routine cost of operations.
On the plus side the work completed on
the Narran Lake Road with waste from the
opal fields has generated a new tourist
attraction with visitors searching for the
road “paved with opals”. Please be careful,
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B REWARRINA N EWS