Narrandera Shire Council mayor Neville Kschenka has just completed a busy two months of engagements.

Among them was the NSW Volunteer of the Year Regional Awards Ceremony at the Wagga RSL Club.

CEO of the Centre of Volunteering, Gemma Rygate, conducted the ceremony and there were many nominees from the region in attendance.

“I had the privilege of addressing the gathering and presenting the award for Senior Volunteer of the Year to Margaret Hill from Junee,” he said.

Other speakers and presenters were Federation Shire mayor Cheryl Cook, Lockhart Shire mayor Peter Sharp, Leeton Shire’s Cr Boston Edwards and Hayley Wilkinson, media adviser for Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke.

This event was a very important recognition of volunteers throughout the region who work tirelessly to provide very important services to communities.

He also attended the International Food Fair at the Marie Bashir Park and had the honour of addressing the large crowd in attendance as well as officially opening the event.

Mayor Kschenka undertook a presentation at Narrandera TAFE Campus to advise attendees of the current activities of TAFE, followed by a questionnaire to determine the needs of the Narrandera community. The outcomes will be used for future reference when courses are provided at Narrandera.

Together with general manager Tim Coote he attended the CMA mayors’ dinner at Doltone House in Elizabeth Street, Sydney, where the prime minister the Hon. Anthony Albanese MP, was the guest speaker.

He spoke about what the government was doing in regional areas including housing. He did not take questions or address any matters concerning the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

GM Tim Coote and the mayor attended the CMA general meeting held at Parliament House Sydney where mayor Rick Firman OAM opened the proceedings.

The first presentation was from Linda Scott, chair of the NSW Grants Commission. In 2024 LGNSW requested a change in the FAGS grant methodology and as a result a review is taking place. Submissions are now being sought, and several workshops will be held in the near future.

Mayor Kschenka said there is now more flexibility for Joint Organisations (JO’s) to choose their structure.

Other points he made in his report were:

• Disaster recovery funding will now be capped at $1.7m.

• Priorities are key worker and Aboriginal housing.

• 8400 new houses or renovations are planned, of which 22 per cent will be in the regions.

• Kellie Sloane MP, NSW Opposition leader stated that the focus was on cities at the moment for new housing.

• She would like to see parliament sit in the regions once a year.

Mayor Kschenka travelled to Barellan to attend the 99th annual Barellan Show. The show was very well attended with a good number of events, attractions and exhibitors, and he congratulated the organisers for ensuring the show was a great success.

“With many rural towns now not having a show it is great to see our Barellan Show continue to provide entertainment for the community to enjoy. I was invited to speak on behalf of council, before Steph Cooke officially opened the show,” he said.

Together with deputy general manager infrastructure (DGMI) Shane Wilson he attended the Sturt Highway Taskforce Committee meeting held at the Leeton Council Chambers.

A lot of discussion was held around the Renewable Energy Zones and the need to upgrade intersections and building passing lanes. ‘Pullover’ lanes are planned for long vehicles carrying wind turbine blades and it was suggested that passing lanes would be a better option because they would be used in the future to make the highway safer.

“The allocation of road funding to the regions is not in proportion to the road lengths compared to the city,” he said.

“Concerns were raised about electric bikes and scooters and the danger they pose to pedestrians. New rules are required to protect pedestrians.”