The GM ’ s Desk
Council could simply have tendered the works to a larger contracting group , accepted a tender and walked away . Instead the strategy adopted was that the Council wanted to employ as many local people as possible , bring them on board and train them up to be plant operators . This strategy has given the community a huge economic boost through having local people build the road .
In the past two years , your Council has expended around $ 4m on plant and equipment and that was just for the bulk of the rollers , water trailers , trucks , grader , loaders , remote camp , utilities and float for transporting plant around . However , the total road funding obtained for Goodooga Road sealing and bridges as well as Jobs Gate road will exceed $ 54m .
Local Contractors are also engaged to provide plant that Council could not provide , such as water trucks , stabilizers etc and they were also encouraged to employ locals to operate that plant . I hear that one local took a gamble on buying a water truck , he now has four trucks and employs five local staff .
The majority of Council staff are First Nations people , the statistics are higher ( 65.5 %) than the resident population ( 61 %) and we were able to achieve this simply by changing the management structure , the work culture and welcoming new people irrespective of their birth , sex or age . In the outdoor crew the percentage of First Nations is over 80 % and three of the six executive team members are of First Nations decent .
There are also currently five women working alongside men in the work crews and at the depot . Clearly , Council has addressed the need to employ locals and actively pursues , encourages and recruits local people for local jobs . When Council first identified a strategy to employ local people to build the Goodooga Road there were skeptics , both from the political area and from locals . Yet two years down the track , Council now employs over 40 additional staff and that does not include the many contractors who have signed on as well . It is a very good news story and one that Governments , both State and Commonwealth have responded to with enthusiasm . Full credit to the dedicated Executive Management team , our Mayor , Councillors and the people who took on the challenges and are working for Brewarrina Shire , keep up the good work .
Are you Interested in becoming a Councillor ? With Council elections scheduled for Saturday Sept 4th it is important for community members to give consideration to serving the community by becoming a Councillor . If you are passionate about what happens in your local Community , becoming a Councillor is an exciting opportunity for you to make a difference and to represent the interests of residents . Council is responsible for making significant decisions that have a far-reaching impact on our Community . More information on how to nominate for Council and important timelines for the September 4 election are available from the Council website .
https :// www . brewarrina . nsw . gov . au /
Council will be running an information evening for those who are interested in running for Council in late June early July so if you are interested in running for Council this will be an opportunity to hear what this entails .
Welcome to visitors : To the many visitors to town I hope that you appreciate the many new facilities and better roads . With the annual race day and fishing competition , this should be a very popular month for visitors to this community . You are most welcome and please include a stop at the visitor information center or check out the new tourism website to see what Brewarrina Shire has to offer . That ’ s all from me this month
Bye for now . Jeff Sowiak General Manager
PUBLISHED BY BREWARRINA SHIRE COUNCIL
GENERAL MANAGER : Jeff Sowiak 50 Bathurst St , Brewarrina NSW 2839 Phone : 02 6830 5152 Email : news @ brewarrina . nsw . gov . au Website : www . brewarrina . nsw . gov . au Postal Address : PO Box 125 , Brewarrina NSW 2839
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BREWARRINA NEWS 3