I would like to start by thanking Deputy Mayor, Jenny Webb for running the ship while I was away on a break. I have heard nothing but great reports on her handling of the business and Council meeting during this time.

This week I will be travelling with Councillor Jenny and our Community Relations Officer, Kimberley Harris to the ALGWA (Australian Local Government Women’s Association) State Conference in Liverpool.

This conference is an amazing opportunity to discuss the challenges women face in local government and how we can exchange ideas, network and collaborate in promoting gender equality in local government.

The Federal Budget was announced this week and I can report it looks like local councils will benefit from the promises. Big investments in natural disaster response, more road funding including $400 million for the Newell Highway and money for transport infrastructure will allow for regional development in our area. We will now have to wait to see if they are voted in at the next election. At a state level, I would also like to congratulate Phil Donato for being voted back in for the electorate of Orange.

Youth Week celebrations begin today with a movie screening at Bedgerabong Public School and continue through next week.

It is so important for us to interact with our youth to ensure they feel connected and celebrate their achievements in the community. Please get behind these Youth Week events.

God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Miller

What an amazing time we had in Forbes last weekend! On Saturday there was the Forbes Rugby Club President’s Lunch, with a record number of 1,000 people being wined and dined and entertained by comedian and artist Anh Do in a marquee on our spectacular South Circle.

We had the inaugural Forbes Ranch Sorting competition at the Forbes Showground, which saw 100 competitors in over 700 events. There was the Forbes Farmers Market at Lions Park, the NSW State Election and if you were looking for something a bit more laid back, the cheese and yogurt making classes held at the magnificent heritage Carrawobitty Rural Retreat.

Sunday morning saw many people out and about having coffee with hardly a free seat to be seen at the local coffee houses. Next Monday will see the first of three budget sessions for Councillors. The budget aims to reflect the priorities, requests, expectations and aspirations of the Forbes community. At the last council meeting we deferred the decisions regarding 2019/2020 Community Funding Program requests to be included in the budget process. To ensure a balanced budget, an increase to one service will need to be funded by a reduction in other services.

We received good news for Forbes on securing $300,000 from the Safe and Secure Water Program to undertake a scoping study to upgrade the Forbes Water Filtration Plant. Council will also contribute up to $200,000 for this study.

Your Councillor,

Jenny Webb

The last few months has highlighted the importance of GP’s and medical professionals in our town. A country town without doctors just cannot survive.

Late last year, four doctors left Forbes.

This not only put pressure on the existing doctors in town but put immense pressure on our hospital emergency department.

The amount of ED patient presentations tripled during this period.

My colleague had a family emergency last Sunday, which saw the Medical Imaging Department cancelling ultrasound appointments.

I searched nationwide to find a replacement sonographer, to no avail. Specialists are extremely hard to recruit in regional Australia.

At last week’s Country Mayors meeting in Sydney, I voiced the issue of doctor retention in country towns. In some instances when a country doctor leaves town, they not only loose a GP, but also the town’s anaesthetist or obstetrician. Forbes has seen the occasional reduced maternity services due to local doctor shortages.

We need more focus on graduating students moving to smaller regional and rural towns after university. We require policy initiatives and strategies to boost recruitment of regional GP’s as well as all medical professionals.

It is with a saddened heart that Forbes Hospital farewelled a dearly valued colleague and friend, Dave Ranger. My condolences go out to his family.

I witnessed the Great Debate last Tuesday night at the Forbes Services Club and it was good to see the politicians all in action.

Don’t forget to vote this Saturday!

By Deputy Mayor Jenny Webb

I attended the Community Precinct Meeting with Police this week and they have reported on the numerous thefts from motor vehicles recently in the Forbes Shire. I would like to encourage everyone to lock your cars, even if they are parked in the driveway.

On Tuesday, I chaired the Meet the Candidates session at the Forbes Services Club. It was very interesting to see the candidates express their ambitions for our Shire.

Last week I attended the Local Government Country Mayors Conference in Sydney with Councillor Jenny Webb. This was also very interesting with the leaders from all of the political parties, except the Liberals, present at the conference. It is heartening to know the government appreciates the support local government plays in the political process.

This week work has started on the Camp Street Bridge. This first stage involves installing temporary lights until the bridge replacement work begins in September. The existing lamp posts on the bridge will be reused in the landscaping approaches on the new bridge.

Can I say how fantastic all the retailers are looking at the moment. We are lucky to have so many great shops in town including our independent stores, Target Country and Spotlight especially, when you hear about towns like Gilgandra losing their Target store. We must support our local shops to make sure we don’t lose them. It was also good to hear the reports that real estate is enjoying 11.4 percent increase.

God Bless

Your Mayor, Phyllis Miller

This dry weather is continuing and is very worrying for our whole community. Hopefully by the time you read this we may have had some rain.

Our Joint Organisation Meeting, formally known as Centroc, met in Orange last week. Minister Littleproud (Federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources) addressed the Mayor and General Manager in relation to the drought and the work that is being done to not only assist with this drought but to prepare for the next one.

Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack made a visit last Sunday to announce the $867,241 for town entryways to Forbes, Rankin and Templar Street upgrades and the Target corner which all fall under the CBD Masterplan. He has worked really hard for Forbes and we are very thankful that he is our local member.

A big thank you, on your behalf, to the farmer tradespeople for the great picket fence around Grinstead and South Circle Ovals. The workers are now about to commence work at the extension of the saleyards. We are very appreciative of the wonderful work they are doing.

Yoorana Gunya are having an event on the 28th, 29th and 30th April, called the Walkabout Barber. The event includes a trauma and recovery workshop for youth, and the following day they can get their haircut. You must attend the workshop to be eligible for a haircut. It is a great initiative and thanks to Donna and her team.

On that note, I’ll have more updates next week.

God Bless.

Your Mayor, Phyllis Miller

This week started off with a bang with our local federal member and Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack arriving in town to launch our 2018-2030 Agricultural Strategy at the Central West Livestock Exchange. We received funding from the Australian Government to undertake this important study. It has a lot of interesting data and we are hoping to find opportunities for value-adding to our products produced here and grow our agricultural industries.

One of the interesting pieces of data to be found in the report is the total outputs generated by the Forbes economy. In 2017 this was an estimated $1.188 billion representing 4.94 percent of the total output in the Central West RDA region. This is something to be very proud of and a statistic we would like to improve on.

Deputy Premier Hon John Barilaro was also in town this week to announce the three new Doppler radars that will be installed in the region to help farmers make better decisions about upcoming weather events. It will be a very useful tool, especially for those in cropping. The information obtained will also help predict severe weather conditions that may affect our area like fires and flooding.

The draft concept plan for Lions Park will be on exhibition until the 19th March. Council has received funds to make beneficial changes to the park. Most importantly we would love your input, so please take a look and drop us a line with your thoughts.

God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Miller

The BOSCARS awards celebration was a fantastic event. I congratulate the Business Chamber on the decorations and the theme they chose. All the businesses are winners in our eyes as you keep our town going through good times and the tough times.

The individual winners will feature in other articles I’m sure but I must congratulate the overall winner, Flannery’s Pharmacy.

I would like to end the rumours circulating at the moment that Bunnings is closing.

Contact has been made with the company and they have confirmed they aren’t.

We thank the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack for giving the Newell Highway study a $2 million boost. Hopefully the study will show we desperately need to do something about the stretch between Forbes and West Wyalong, which saw diversions in place for over six weeks in the last flood.

We are pleased to hear the great response we are getting regarding upgrading the community halls in our Shire. The first hall to have a community consultation was Wirrinya.

I would like to offer a warm welcome to the new doctors in town. We have the greatest respect for the doctors in Forbes, both past and present. This coming Heritage Week, we will see the final of the nine Doctor’s Panels unveiled at the celebrations.

These panels cover the history of doctor’s who practiced in Forbes from the Harold Street Medical Centre and Cross Street surgeries.

God Bless

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Miller

We are all back into the swing of things this week with many committee meetings taking place. The Councillors are very refreshed and keen to go.

It is so exciting to see the picket fence going up around Grinstead Oval. The farmers are doing a mighty job and have worked tirelessly through this disgusting hot weather.

Lucky we all love Forbes or there would be a mass exit to the coast! Seriously, I would like to thank the workers we have through our Drought Farm Trade Initiative. You are making a big difference in helping Council deliver our Capital Works Program.

This week we met with local real estate agents to get a feel for the state of play in our area. As many of you would be aware, Council has two areas for residential development, Edward Street and the old Vintage Village site. Master plans for both sites are underway and we will continue to liaise with the agents for the best results.

Stay cool everyone, I will have more for you next week.

God Bless.

Your Mayor, Phyllis Miller

I want to congratulate the team on a wonderful Australia Day in the park. Kimberley Harris’ rendition of Advance Australia Fair penetrated my soul, she has an incredible voice. Keith Potger from the Seekers was a wonderful Ambassador and I thoroughly enjoyed his singing and conversing with him at dinner to learn about his wonderful 56 year career in music. It was great to have our Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Member, Michael McCormack attend our ceremony with his wife. Seeing him interacting with people and assisting with the Rotary BBQ was fabulous.

It was with great sadness that I heard about the passing of Greg Stammers over the weekend. ‘We grew up in Forbes and we’re proud of it’ has been a wonderful Facebook page for former and current community members to engage and reconnect.

I extend my sympathy to his family especially Tim and Allan.

My wish for our community is to see more people get involved. Be involved with your kids. Go to the restaurants, visit the pool, support our local shops and businesses, and attend the cinema. Phone a friend or your family and ask them to come too. Build those connections and relationships around you that make a community great. It is so easy to sit back and criticise that we have nothing in our town. But we are on the cusp of great things in Forbes – what are you going to do?

“Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something” – Max Lucado.

Your Councillor,

Michele Herbert