Border bubble exclusion a dangerous kick in the guts
The announcement on Wednesday night that we’d been kicked out of the Border Bubble came as a very unwelcome surprise.
My immediate thought was for the health of our residents - especially those who are forced to travel to Victoria for medical appointments. Later, after reading comments on our Facebook page, it’s evident that it’s not just our health that is at risk here.
Many of us send our kids to school in Victoria. Many of us work in Victoria. And many of us employ Victorians.
Without a single Covid case in the LGA since the start of the pandemic, we are at a loss to understand how this decision was made.
To me it is purely political: it’s state premiers having a go at each other, and we’re caught in the middle.
We have no major highways in our LGA - we do not get a large amount of through traffic from anywhere!
You can almost understand why Hay was excluded - they have major highways in their area and being the half way point between Sydney and Adelaide, one can see the risk - albeit a small one.
The closest we have come to being exposed to Covid is Echuca - a Victorian case not a NSW border bubble resident.
We present no risk to Victoria, in fact we are the ones taking the risk by travelling to Victoria for essential services. Our residents are often forced out of town to buy a pair of undies! That’s what we’re talking about - this decision makes no sense.
Community Grants
Council has received nearly $95,000 in applications for our Community Grants program this year.
We received 25 applications requesting a total $94,962 in funding, slightly down on previous years.
Council has allocated $50,000 towards the program so will be assessing every application in detail in order to distribute the grants fairly and on merit.
Father’s Day Deliveries
The Peppin Heritage Centre, whilst closed to the public, has kept working behind the closed doors.
Just in time for Father’s Day, the Peppin has put together some fabulous gift packs for dads.
Packs start from $23.00 and go up to $105.00.
All products are made in Australia, with most produced in the local and surrounding regions. So, by purchasing you’re supporting local Aussie producers.
Products include awardwinning sauces, regionally produced olive oils, local honey, beautiful woollen socks, pink salt flakes from Mildura and more!
Shop online or call to order 1800 650 712. We are also offering free local delivery, a free Father’s Day card and custom packs are available, call to arrange.
Just add your preferred delivery date and custom Father’s Day message in the notes at checkout.
Mentor program on offer
Destination Riverina Murray has launched a new mentoring program for tourism businesses that will deliver digital marketing skills and tailored assistance to 80 operators from 12 council areas across the region, including Edward River.
Eighty successful applicants will receive a personalised Digital Health Report detailing ways they can improve and sell their products and experiences online.
They’ll also be invited to a workshop that helps develop the skills needed to build and maintain their online presence.
Following the workshops, 15 businesses will progress to join a 3-month mentor program facilitated by
Tourism Tribe to implement the results of their Digital Health Check and learnings from the workshop.
To apply, contact our Tourism and Economic Development team on 03 58983000.
Council services open
We are still here to support you, with staff available via phone and email. To enquire about rates, register your pet, check on your bin collection, we are still here! Our Customer Service Team is working as normal so give us a call on 03 5898 3000 or email council@edwardriver. nsw.gov.au.
Edward River Library
During lockdown, the Library is closed to the public, however we are offering a ‘click and collect’ and a ‘call and collect’ service.
Our team lead will have your orders ready for you to collect between 2.00pm and 3.00pm each day.
You can still access our digital services as normal, including: BorrowBox, Indy Reads, Libby Magazines, Story Box Library and Hoopla Streaming services.
Free Waste Weekend
Don’t forget we have moved our planned October free waste weekend forward to this weekend 4 & 5 September at the Deni landfill.
The free weekends allow for the disposal of larger items such as mattresses, refrigerators, other white goods and furniture. This is for residential properties only and does not include tyres, commercial waster, construction and/or demolition waste.
Stay safe.