Important transport issues were discussed throughout a series of gatherings over Thursday and Friday that included the meeting itself, a tour of our forestry operations, and a dinner which was attended by Member for Eden-Monaro, Mike Kelly.

The Mayors of Snowy River and Cooma Monaro Shires also attended the dinner, and it was Bombala Council Mayor Bob Stewart who welcomed the 35 delegates to Bombala on Thursday.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome everyone to Bombala for the SEATS meeting and dinner over the coming two days,” Mayor Stewart said as proceedings opened.

“Council recognises SEATS as one of the few forums where Councils can look at the bigger picture and step back from local interests.

“It is one of the few bodies that seems to be able to forget about the NSW/Victorian border and look at the region as a whole.

“It is a very important body for many councils, regional development and industry organisations because it acts as a conduit for ideas, identifies problem spots and lobbies the relevant levels of government for funding.

“This lobbying often leads to investment in and the development of transport infrastructure in the South East Australian region. I realise that this is an economic benefit to all the region, and that in these days it is extremely important to focus on this.

“I know from comments made by our Bombala representative, Steve Farkas, that SEATS helped to lobby for the improvements that are now being carried out on Native Dog Creek Bridge on the Monaro Highway north of Bombala.

“This was a trouble spot that had caused concern for many years. The increase in traffic generated from the softwood industry highlighted this problem and we are pleased that it has finally been addressed.

“Council is very appreciative of the fact that SEATS did recognise the issues and lobbied on Council’s behalf.

“Bombala Council is very pleased that the new wood supply contract has been announced and the long awaited softwood processing plant looks set to go ahead. However, one of this Council’s challenges within the coming years will be to keep its own local roads in a useable state, particularly when harvesting begins from the many softwood plantations that are now being developed within the area.”

Delegates came from Victoria and NSW for the meeting, and Cr Sue Whelan, the Chairman of SEATS, indicated that all were impressed with the Bombala region.

Cr Whelan explained that SEATS fully supports the work being done by Bombala Council in ensuring that the NSW Government and Federal Government are aware of the needs of this Council area.

After the informative tour of district forestry operations organised by the local office, the Thursday dinner was held at the Bombala Golf Club. This was very well catered for by the Golf Club ladies and clearly impressed our visitors. The meeting concluded around lunch time on Friday.