This Shire is a little slice of heaven. People should not have to leave it to find work, a night out, or a future for their kids.
If we get the basics right and create more local opportunity, we give people a reason to stay and a reason to come.
That is my vision for the Upper Lachlan.
Jobs
Too many younger people leave because the work is somewhere else. Securing more light industrial and employment land would help attract new people and give existing residents a reason to stay. Without places to work, the rest does not stick.
A fun place to be
Halls, shows, sport, main streets, a coffee or a beer with a neighbour — the things that make a town worth coming into. Council’s job is not to run every event. It is to keep the basics in good order so community groups can: roads, parks, waste, water, halls you can actually use.
Connected
Crookwell, Gunning, Taralga and every village in between. Roads that work. A Council that stays aligned with the people who live here. That is why I will keep turning up — outreach nights, the Calendar, and a Mayor who listens in Big Hill as well as the chamber.
Core functions done extremely well. Ratepayers deserve to know the why behind every dollar. That is the ground the rest of this vision stands on.
This is my compass as Mayor. It is not the official Community Strategic Plan. That stays on upperlachlan.nsw.gov.au.
See also Priorities, Towns and villages and Invite the Mayor.