Narrabri Shire Council representatives and Barwon MP Roy Butler attended a Wee Waa and district chamber of commerce meeting last week, where residents were given the opportunity to voice their concerns and raise local issues.
The meeting was held at The Imperial and chaired by chamber president John Clements, who also serves as a Narrabri Shire councillor.
NSC council representatives in attendance were Narrabri Shire Council’s director of planning and sustainability Donna Ausling, NSC small business liaison officer Gillian Goddard, NSC general manager Rob Williams and NSC manager of parks and open spaces Evan Harris.
A variety of topics were discussed including: the hospital and healthcare; roadworks; maintenance of sites such as the pool, tennis courts and cemetery; levee bank upgrade; main street drainage; infrastructure to prevent isolation during floods; toilet facilities; daycare options and ways to attract more people to town.
“We would like to thank them for updating us on the progress of existing and upcoming shire projects and the status of our hospital,” said chamber publicity officer Lisa Pfeffer.
“We look forward to touching base with them again in the future.
“The chamber continually strives to help our community in many different areas and is always looking for new members to join us.
“Mr Williams discussed the timing of the levee bank upgrade, better town drainage plans and the initial work to begin the case for a longer bridge over the lagoon creek to cut down on flood isolation.”
NSC general manager Rob Williams told the Wee Waa News after the meeting that it “was a great opportunity to hear first hand from community members regarding concerns they had over levels of service and standards of workmanship.
“Whilst the questioning and dialogue appeared robust at times there remained a good spirit within the room and the appropriate messages were received for further action.
“The council team is always keen to hear from community members regarding the good and bad elements of project and programme delivery.
“We have stepped up our efforts regarding community engagement.
“We will be consulting with the Wee Waa community on the latest design proposals for the proposed community space / business hub at the old NAB building location in the coming months.”
Mr Williams said he “absolutely’ enjoyed visiting Wee Waa for the meeting but explained “our role is not about whether we enjoy a location or a meeting.
“The vast majority of our staff live within this Shire community; we want good outcomes and results because we live here.
“It was a dynamic exchange of requests, ideas, and responses. To me, that is a successful outcome, and anything outstanding will be sorted over time,” he said.
“Our job is to listen and to remain open minded and positive in terms of delivering the levels of service and standards of workmanship that we have committed to.
“As mentioned previously there were a number of items that reflect service levels and standards of workmanship that we need to take a look into and report back to the community in Wee Waa.
Mr Williams added, “The vast majority of council staff are diligent, committed, and skilled in the way we perform our professional roles.
“As in life, things do not always go to plan, so direct and targeted communication and information will always be an important element in the way we work with our communities.
“Council staff regularly attend Wee Waa Chamber meetings and provide updates on matters of interest to those community members in attendance.
“Council have actively supported and partnered with Wee Waa Chamber of Commerce for numerous successful community events and programs since 2020.”
Member for Barwon Roy Butler discussed efforts to restaff and reopen the hospital to its full service again.
And along with attendees at the chamber meeting, he praised the efforts of local healthcare workers especially nurses and ambulance officers.
“It was a great turnout,” said Mr Butler when asked by the Wee Waa News about the meeting and connecting directly with residents.
“I want to thank the Wee Waa business chamber for organising the event and for inviting me to hear the concerns of the people of Wee Waa.
“I believe it is always better to speak to people in person about these issues, to listen to what they have to say.
“Communities facing major issues like a disruption to their hospital need to be fully consulted and reassured that someone is acting on their behalf and making sure that the issue remains before the government.
“Which is also what has been happening with the Wee Waa working party, consulting the community and looking for solutions.”
Mr Butler said he would be meeting with the health minister later this month about the Wee Waa hospital.
“The main things that I will be talking to the minister about are the negotiations with the VMO (Visiting Medical Officers), which those at the meeting made clear they want to move along, so that they have a doctor at the hospital to take some of the pressure off the staff there at the moment.
“I will also be talking about the variance in recruiting for nurses.
“There should be a co-ordinated process across all of the LHDs (Local health districts), with nurses sent first to the areas of greatest need, rather than each LHD doing their recruitment.
“There was a strong opinion expressed by those gathered that Hunter New England is not making enough of an effort to resolve the issue.”
Mr Butler added,” I have assurances from the minister that there is no intention of closing the hospital and I will continue to work with the government toward getting the hospital operating with a full staff and for its normal hours.
“But I also want to thank the nurses and ambos who are holding the line, doing a very tough job under tough circumstances.
“We stand with them in their quest to fix this broken health system and to deliver a better standard of health care for everyone.”
Chamber publicity officer Lisa Pfeffer also thanked Yarrie Lake Flora and Fauna Trust chair Lester Kelly.
“Mr Kelly gave the final progress report on the program to equip Yarrie Lake with a bore to top up evaporation and increase the number of skiable days.
“Several members of our community were able to ask questions and give feedback.”
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