If you’ve visited Lions Park these school holidays you may have noticed work un­derway around the playground and café area. Contractors are preparing footings for new shade sails over both areas, the need for this identified by the community during consultation as part of the Lake Forbes Ac­tivation Plan. These improvements will cre­ate a more welcoming, user-friendly Lions Park for locals and visitors to enjoy yearround. We appreciate your patience while these works are completed.

Council is proud to be joining Central West Lachlan Landcare to celebrate Na­tional Tree Day on Saturday 26 July. We’re inviting community members to come along from 10am to 12pm on the corner of Federation Boulevard and Olympic Street to help plant trees next to the Goldridge Housing Development.

This is a wonderful chance to get out­doors and make a lasting contribution to the environment. Please wear sturdy shoes, warm clothes, and bring a hat or beanie, along with water and snacks. Gar­dening tools will be provided. To register, visit nationaltreeday.org.au. I hope to see many of you there lending a hand to make Forbes even greener!This year marks 160 years since the death of Ben Hall, one of Australia’s most fascinating bushrangers. To commemorate this milestone, Council’s Heritage Advisory Committee is proud to once again present the unique event, The Trial of Ben Hall.

Back by popular demand, this interactive play lets audiences explore an important chapter of our history in a creative and en­gaging way. Performances will be held on 2nd and 3rd August at St Andrews Church on Harold Street, with tickets available through 123tix. I look forward to seeing you there supporting our local performers and enjoying this special piece of history.

And finally, another stellar week at the Central West Livestock Exchange. A Na­tional Price Record broken for lambs with a sale of $454 per head for a pen. Huge congratulations to the vendors and agents – what a wonderful asset to our community the saleyards are.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM

Stephen Lawrence MLC announced that Forbes has been awarded funding for Forbes Street Dreams – a brand-new im­mersive art and cultural festival that will transform Forbes into a vibrant celebration of creativity and community.

Planned for Saturday 27 September from 5:00pm to 9:00pm, the event will activate Harold Street, Victoria Park, and Town Hall into dynamic spaces filled with art installa­tions, interactive light displays, live perfor­mances, and delicious food.

Forbes has a strong and proud history of hosting art events and festivals and we will be working with these committees to de­liver a unique and completely funded night of culture and fun for the community. What a treat! Thank you to our local police who have conducted raids on local businesses four times in the last month – each time seiz­ing illegal products. As a result two people have been charged and some large fines have been issued.

I think you will agree there has been an increased police presence in our commu­nity – it is very much appreciated. Remem­ber to call 000 if you or your property is in immediate risk.

As the President of Local Government NSW, I spent some time this week with councils from the Northern Rivers of NSW.

These areas have again endured extreme flooding and it has been insightful and hopefully comforting for them to have rep­resentatives in the area who understand the plight of flooding. Our thoughts are with all those impacted.

Did you see the story about Ryan Glen­nan on the local news this week. It was a lovely story about Ryan, who first began working at the Central West Livestock Ex­change for council. He is now working for VC Reid and was selling at Monday’s cattle sale. Just a quick note in the last financial year, we have yarded over 78,000 cattle and calves, 1,738,394 sheep and lambs and over 6500 pigs. What an amazing live­stock selling centre.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM

What an amazing weekend of sport! On Sunday, Forbes played host to more than 3,000 junior athletes and supporters from across NSW for the annual Youth Soccer Gala Day. A total of 85 teams competed in over 180 thrilling matches throughout the day. Congratulations to Forbes District Soccer Club for organising an outstand­ing event. Days like this not only energise grassroots sport but also deliver a valuable boost to the local economy.

One of the standout moments was the official opening of the Youth Strength and Conditioning Gym. It’s the first of its kind in regional Australia and features cuttingedge equipment designed to support the development of young athletes.

The weekend also drew players and sup­porters to town for the Forbes Platypi and Forbes Magpies Juniors Home games.

On Monday, around 2,000 people attend the Catholic Schools Rugby Trials Day. All the sportsgrounds looked amazing and the crowds were very appreciative.

I wish to thank the Minns State Govern­ment for its commitment of $20.2 million for the Forbes Hospital Operating Theatre Re­development in the 2025/26 State Budget.

The new operating theatre will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology and built tothe highest modern medical standards.

The redevelopment ensures the continued delivery of essential services, expands the capacity to perform a broader range of sur­gical procedures, and delivers the health­care our community deserves.

This week I welcomed the launch of a new three-year partnership between Local Government NSW and the NSW Govern­ment to help councils tackle the root caus­es of domestic, family, and sexual violence.

The Pathways to Prevention Strategy will support the delivery of primary prevention programs like unconscious bias training, gender equality initiatives, and awareness resources.

Councils are central to our communities and, when well-resourced, are well-placed to lead on social issues. Violence of this kind is preventable. With the right tools, councils can help stop it before it starts.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM

Well we certainly got the frost part right for our sixth annual Frost and Fire on Satur­day. It was a very frosty morning on the day of our sixth annual amazing event of live music, good food, friends and fire buckets – Frost and Fire 2025.

Despite the cold, we all rugged up and huddled around more than 20 fire pits and the amazing effigy bonfires lit later in the night. It was great to see so many of you there and to support local and bigger musi­cal acts in a regional setting. Thanks to the more than 2600 people who bought tickets, many of whom travelled from out of town.

We had tickets sales and attendees from as far away as Melbourne and Tasmania.

A fire bucket, friends and live music – is there any better way to spend a frosty win­ter’s night? It has been an honour to attend the Na­tional General Assembly in Canberra this week and host the 2025 Regional Cooper­ation and Development Forum on Tuesday.

The forum addressed challenges and po­tential solutions for regional, rural and re­mote areas. We had the pleasure of guests such as demographers to discuss trends shaping regions, mental health and road safety.

The theme this year was National Pri­orities Need Local Solutions and we were able to spotlight the way Councils are leading the way, delivering unique and place-based solutions to address housing pressures, build safer roads, increase re­silience to natural disasters and build com­munity wellbeing.

It was hard not to notice the very visible presence of a lot of police in Forbes last week. There were several operations con­ducted, including one on the Newell High­way and several tobacco shop compliance checks. Police reported a range of search­es, drug tests, ADVO compliance checks and charges laid for possessing knife and housebreaking implements.

Thank you for the focus on the Forbes area and the greater region.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM

Frost and Fire 2025

It’s finally here, Forbes’ key destination annual event Frost and Fire is on this weekend. Come and celebrate with us in its sixth ye ar in the heart of Central West NSW! Warm up by fire buckets, enjoy hearty treats from food trucks and sip bou­tique brews while listening to top Austral­ian music acts, the Wolfe Brothers, Ripley Alexander, Foxxy Cleopatra, Baker Boys, EasyGoin.

Experience live entertainment, including Wiradjuri cultural performances and the spectacular Frost and Fire effigy bonfires.

Children will love the roving entertainment, fire performers, and face painting. En­joy the free shuttle buses to and from the event. Rug up, celebrate the Winter Sol­stice with starry skies, lively performances, and a strong sense of community.

Tickets are available from 123tix and you can find out all about the event on our Amazing website.

Volunteers Morning Tea

Let’s thank our amazing local volunteers! Join us for a morning tea to celebrate our volunteers and their contributions to Forbes on Monday 30 June. To be held at the Apex Caravan Park from 10.30am, please RSVP by Wednesday 25 June to Council on 6850 2300 or community@forbes.nsw.gov.au Join us for a free Speed Networking event for local businesswomen, profes­sionals, parents, caretakers, and com­munity members. Make new connections through brief, guided conversations. Bring a friend and enjoy a welcome drink and light refreshments. To be held Thursday 10 July at Club Forbes from 6pm – 8pm.

Tickets are limited. Registration is essential through Humantix.

Looking forward to seeing you at these wonderful events and celebrating our amazing community together.

It was another strong sale this week at the Central West Livestock Forbes with over 50,000 sheep yarded – 42,100 lambs and 8,600 mutton. Dorper lambs topped the market at $410 on Tuesday, just shy of the national record of $424 in Wagga last week, which was just days after the record of $400 was broken at Forbes. We are hav­ing some very strong sales, very strong markets – all at one of the best stock sell­ing centres in Australia.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM

I hope everyone enjoyed the King’s Birth­day long weekend. Thank you to the won­derful Lions Club volunteers who operated the Driver Reviver van across the entire weekend. Such a valuable service, keep­ing travellers alert and refreshed.

Central West NSW Heavy Vehicle Break­fast Forum returned Thursday 12 June at Forbes Inn. This year’s Forum focused on higher productivity vehicles, safety, compli­ance and industry case studies, with a high productivity vehicle on display. It’s a great opportunity for local farmers, contract har­vesters, couriers, truck drivers and trans­port company operators to network and speak with industry ex­perts. Cost is free.

Contact Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor on (02) 6861 2364 to register.

This week I attended the annual Coun­try Mayors Association of NSW (CMA) Regional Road and Transport Meeting in Orange where I had the opportunity to hear from industry leaders about the state of our road and transport network, as well as major infrastructure projects impact­ing the State’s regional areas. We heard from a range of presenters including The Hon. Jenny Aitchison MP, NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, and representatives from Transport for NSW, IPWEA, Reconstruction Authority, NRMA and Essential Energy. The meeting was an opportunity for regional advocacy and collaboration between member Councils.

We are officially on the countdown to Frost and Fire 2025! The ultimate winter warmer event is on Saturday 21 June at Forbes Ski Dam.

We are beyond excited to have Mitchell Coombs on board as this year’s Frost and Fire official ambassador. Mitchell is an Aus­tralian comedian who originally hails from Bogan Gate. Well-known for sharing his hilarious takes on everyday life on social media, Mitchell will bring his signature style and energy to this year’s event.

Now in its sixth year, Frost and Fire de­livers family-friendly fun. Hearty food, fire buckets, boutique brews, fire performers and pyrotechnics, cultural performances and live music including headline act, The Wolfe Brothers. Tickets are on sale now via 123tix, or head to the Amazing Forbes website for more information.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM

After many phone calls last week to the NSW Police Commissioners and Police Ministers Office, I was very pleased to meet our Western Region Commander An­drew Holland who has given me some solid assurances about the police presence in the Forbes community.

We have developed some ideas about improving the police presence and ensur­ing our residents are well protected and feel secure.

We look forward to continuing to work with Commander Holland who will imple­ment changes to the rostering system at the Forbes Police Station.

A very important message out of the meeting on Monday was that if residents are in immediate risk to themselves or their property you MUST call 000.

So many residents have told me that they ring and ring the local police station number and get no answer. It is important these calls are logged with 000 so we can get a true account of when police are need­ed here in our community.

Council will continue to work with the lo­cal police and we have shared our LIVE Forbes promotional material to be distribu­tion to new police graduating in the hope of attracting more recruits to our area.

Commander Holland’s new district cov­ers 72% of NSW and he has been making his way around each of the communities, so it was a great opportunity to get to know him on Monday.

Congratulations to Forbes business Top­soil Organics, for its incredible success at the 2025 Western NSW Business Awards winning the Excellence in Sustainability, Excellence in Large Business and Overall Business of the Year.

This sustainable business is growing every day and we congratulate the whole team for their dedication, innovation and hard work.

I was pleased our first ever Public Art Advisory Committee met on Tuesday night.

Thanks to the amazing work of the Forbes Art Society, Forbes has an incredible col­lection of public art and this working party will now work with council to provide advice and recommendations to Council regarding the management and installation of public art within the Forbes LGA.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM

I am deeply moved by the outpouring of thoughts and prayers during my recent ill­ness. Your support has been a beacon of hope and strength for me and my family during this challenging time.

I am grateful for each and every one of you who took the time to send well wishes, offer prayers, and provide comfort. Your kindness and compassion have made a profound impact on my recovery.

Thank you for standing by me and show­ing the true spirit of our wonderful commu­nity. Together, we have demonstrated that Forbes is not just a place, but a family that cares deeply for one another. Thank you.

I will be taking it slowly while I fully re­cover but am already feeling more myself since being back in Amazing Forbes.

Rug up and come along for a family movie night on Friday night at Nelson Park.

Join the Forbes Shire Council team from 4.30pm for some pre movie fun – includ­ing face painting, giant garden games and food vendors. The Australian movie RUNT will be featured from 5.30pm.

Everyone is asked to BYO chairs and blankets. You can find more details on the Forbes Youth Action Team facebook page or Council’s website.

Forbes businesses – NSW Reconstruc­tion Authority is hosting a business forum to help Central West business owners who have experienced or are at risk of over-floor flooding. Reconstruction’s Flood-resilience experts will present practical ways busi­ness owners can restore their business premises quickly after a flood.

The presentation will include practical tips and advice about building materials which will help you open your doors and start trading as soon as possible after a flood. This business event will be held at Club Forbes, 41-45 Templar Street, from 6- 8pm on Tuesday 3 June.

The colder weather has made me think of winter, fire buckets and heart food, which means Frost and Fire must be getting close. Tickets on sale now. We have sold a lot of tickets to people away so we don’t want the locals to miss out. This year’s live music is the Wolfe Brothers, Ripley Alexan­der, the Baker Boys Band, Easy Goin’ and Foxxy Cleopatra. It’s on Saturday 21 June starting at 4pm.

God Bless,
Phyllis Miller OAM

On Saturday the town celebrated that is had been 50 years since Gough Whitlam officially opened the Lachlan Vintage Vil­lage – you can watch the reel at the newly refurbished Visitor Information Centre on the site in Mary Street.

It is also very exciting as we commemo­rate this special event, we have launched several opportunities currently available at the site. Developers and accommoda­tion providers are invited to review and apply to develop one of two prime sites (with Newell Highway Frontage) within the Forbes Visitor Information Centre precinct.

The two sites are for a motel/conference centre (2.31ha) and a caravan/holiday park (3.28ha). Council believes this is a unique opportunity to shape the future of accom­modation in Forbes, to meet growing num­ber of travellers visiting the area. Closing 30 June 2025.

Suitably qualified operators are also cur­rently being invited to submit an EOI to lease the very popular Forbes Visitor Infor­mation Centre Cafe/Restaurant since the current operator has given notice. This is a very popular cafe, and we are hoping to at­l

tract a skilled chef/operator to run the busy venue, possibly even seven days a week.

Finally, local producers are again invited to submit an EOI to supply and sell their local goods at the new Forbes Visitor In­formation Centre, located at the former La­chlan Vintage Village. See Tenders and Ex­pressions of Interest on the Forbes Shire Council website for details about all current EOI opportunities.

NSW Reconstruction Authority is host­ing a business forum to help Central West business owners who have experienced or are at risk of over-floor flooding. Floodresilience experts will present simple and practical ways business owners can re­store their business premises quickly after a flood. The presentation will include practi­cal tips and advice about building materials which will help you open your doors and start trading as soon as possible after a flood. It will be held at Club Forbes, 41-45 Templar Street, from 6-8pm on Tuesday 3 June.

By Chris Roylance,
Deputy Mayor of Forbes Shire Council

This week is National Road Safety Week, and we are once again proud to support this important campaign where we encour­age everyone to drive so that others sur­vive.

Forbes and our partner shires in Road Safety – Parkes and Lachlan – are the first official Yellow Ribbon Road Safety Coun­cils in NSW due to our long-term commit­ment to the cause.

This week you will see the town hall lit up in yellow, yellow road safety ribbons and stickers available at the front counter and all of us taking the road safety pledge.

Make sure you have road safety conver­sations with your family and friends – we need to keep everyone safe.

I wanted to also this week congratulate the volunteers and staff involved in the reenactment of the Ben Hall Trial last Friday night! What a great event – well done to all! We have such a rich history in Forbes, and it is so wonderful to see it celebrated in this way.

We have plenty of activity happening around Lake Forbes at the moment – in­cluding works at Bates Bridge and Johnny Woods Crossing, where we see new foot­paths, landscaping and a new weir gate.

The Lake really is the jewel in Forbes crown and the Johnny Woods works in par­ticular are going to be fantastic.

Thanks for your patience while this work goes on – in the case of Johnny Woods it will be for a few more weeks yet. Please continue to take care in this area.

And finally, just to let you know that our Mayor is currently unwell, so I will be taking the reins for just a little while.

Please keep her in your prayers and I’m sure she will be back soon, stronger than ever.

By Chris Roylance,
Deputy Mayor of Forbes Shire Council