How good was Vanfest for the town? Congratulations to Matt Clifton and Secret Sounds for a fabulous music festival production. The weather on Friday night was a bit chilly but Saturday was absolutely fantastic. I spoke with many people from all over Australia and they absolutely loved Forbes and the hospitality they received here. On Saturday morning the CBD was very busy and we have information from businesses that the festival is a wonderful boost to the local economy and one that the community desperately needed during the tough period they are having due to the drought.

Our farmers are still waiting for the much needed rain, sooner rather than later to help the newly sown crops well on their way for the season. I ask everyone to keep their thoughts and prayers in the front of their minds for our very important farming community.

May Council meeting was held on Thursday and there was a lot on the agenda.

Most importantly we will adopt our 2019/20 budget, which will now go out on exhibition. I also had the pleasure of presenting a gift at the meeting to two of our retired staff members Peter McLuckie and Trevor O’Malley. Between the two of them they have notched up 82 years of service. They have been very loyal and wonderful employees.

Have a great week.

God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Miller

The political race has stepped up a notch with the Meet the Candidates for the seat of Riverina held on Tuesday night. Pre-polling starts in Forbes on 11th May and will take place at St John’s Anglican Church from 9am to 4pm, not Town Hall as it has in previous years.

Forbes Shire Council hosted the Mining and Energy Related Councils meeting this week. Mayors and General Managers from 22 councils converged on Forbes to discuss various subjects including the Voluntary Planning Agreement we are a part of, the adoption of the Coal Seam Gas Policy and discussions on university partnerships on modelling social licence.

This week was Heritage Week in Forbes and what a wonderful celebration of our town’s history it has been. Congratulations to the Forbes Post Office for receiving the auspicious Forbes Medal for their wonderful renovation of this magnificent building. I have also heard great reports of the Permabulating in the Park session conducted by our local historian Rob Willis last Sunday.

It wouldn’t be complete without the final instalment of Doctor’s Panels being presented last night. This year, the panels tell the story of the Forbes Hospital, Private Hospitals and Aged Care in our town. I encourage you all to pop up to the hospital and have a look at them all.

To finish the week, please join me in welcoming many more visitors to town for Vanfest.

I hope you all enjoy the festival and our lovely town.

God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Mille

Vanfest is getting closer and they have a great line up this year. If you haven’t got your ticket yet please go online and get one. We need local support of this fantastic event. The enormous benefits to our local retail and hospitality sector are extremely important.

Anzac Day was absolutely sensational last Thursday and our local school children were out in droves. Thank you to all our volunteers in Forbes. We can’t thank you enough for the enormous contribution you make to the fabric of our lives.

You have to take your hat off to the farming community. They just keep on going. It is looking promising for the latter part of the week but we need to keep our rain prayers going.

I had a wander around our retail shops this week and boy oh boy, we are so lucky!

There is not one thing you can’t buy in town and the ladies in the fashion houses are second to none on both style and price – try local first!

You will notice down on the lake the grey nomads are on the move. Stop and say ‘hello’. They are great people and are a huge part of our economy.

I’ll be chairing a Meet the Candidates evening at the Forbes Services Memorial Club on Tuesday, 7th May at 7pm. Come on down to hear from our local candidates in the upcoming Federal election.

Have a great week.

God Bless.

Your Mayor

Phyllis Miller

Easter is upon us again and boy oh boy this year is going by so quickly.

The Council meeting was held on Thursday, with lots of great decisions made, especially our Budget workshop that has achieved a balanced budget, even a small surplus.

We had the most amazing Youth Week celebration this year. I must congratulate the 23 award nominees and I commend the winners of the awards. I also thank all the wonderfully talented artists who performed on the day.

I met with the organisation, Boys to the Bush this week. They are a not-for-profit organisation working with disengaged boys.

One of the co-founders is Adam Demamiel – a local boy. Their mission is to provide an environment and opportunity for young males to learn the importance of becoming a good bloke. They run camps for boys in the bush and give the kids an opportunity to experience what we take for granted. There will be an information night soon. Take a look at the website www.boystothebush.com.au.

The Camel Races will be on Good Friday.

What an amazing family day out! It truly has something for everyone and draws a huge crowd from all over NSW.

Easter is a wonderful time for families.

Please be careful if you are enjoying our beautiful waterways. For those that are travelling on our busy roads, please take care.

Easter is also a great celebration for our Christian community with services available over the Easter break.

God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Miller

I am so pleased to be bringing the column to you this week. Many of you would know I am a very proud member of the Forbes community and own a business in town.

I’m keen to play a part in Forbes’ continued development and improvement. Whether it be with the many volunteer organisations I am involved in or the fantastic sporting groups I am a part of. I really want to promote Forbes as an amazing town to do business in and with. My goals in Council are to focus on economic support to the local businesses in the Shire and to keep Forbes businesses and community competitive.

I also believe we have a great tourism product in Forbes, with the amazing waterways we have and boutique retail sector.

The lake and the surrounds are truly unique and beautiful. The continued improvements and developments currently in development with these facilities can only make this better. You will all know of my involvement with Vanfest. This event provides a great opportunity to support the music industry and provide world class entertainment for everyone. It is bringing outside money to town, in a time we all really need it. I continue to work with my son in bringing this event to Central NSW and encourage the town to welcome and take advantage of the increased number of people visiting, to show them they are welcome… and need to come again.

Your Councillor,

Grant Clifton

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