What's New - February 2021 Newsletter from ABE

Interested in Council politics and the upcoming Council elections? A Better Eurobodalla (ABE) are a community forum dedicated to having more open and inclusive government in our region. A Better Eurobodalla (ABE) IS NOT a political party and will not be running candidates. They explain: In Eurobodalla we’re calling for:

• Open, accountable and responsive local, state and federal government.

• A council with a sustainable, practical vision that can cost-effectively meet the needs of residents and ratepayers.

• Local government that actively and accurately represents Eurobodalla residents’ interests to state and federal government.

• Candidates for the 2021 local government election who genuinely listen; who tackle key issues of concern and urgency and who safeguard the interests of all of us.

"A Better Eurobodalla (ABE) wants to give community members a voice by publicising the issues that matter to you. We have a strong interest in how Eurobodalla Council operates at the local government level, but we are also interested in how NSW and Federal Government policies and programs affect our region."

"The delay in local government elections means that the community has an opportunity to think about and respond to the dramatic events of 2019-20 – the drought, the bushfires and COVID19. How did government at all levels respond and how would we have wanted our elected representatives to have responded on our behalf?" You can learn more about the Group HERE

What's New - February 2021 Newsletter

Candidate Meetings:

Recently ABE has started meeting with prospective candidates for the September 2021 council election, and we have contacted all current Councillors to seek meetings to discuss their intentions for the September 2021 election. We invite all prospective candidates to meet with us so we can explain what ABE is doing in the lead up to the election and what our community engagement is telling us about what is important to the people of Eurobodalla. We will report on all these meetings in our newsletter and on the website.

Summer Activities

ABE has been distributing flyers across Eurobodalla to inform non-resident ratepayers of their eligibility to vote in the September 2021 council election.

Distributing this information at markets across the shire has given us a great opportunity to listen to residents and ratepayers about what is important to them. Interestingly most non-resident ratepayers were unaware of their right to one vote per property and the need to register with council to exercise that right. More information at : https://abettereurobodalla.org/voting-information-2/voting-information/

We are planning to have a presence at a variety of Eurobodalla markets during March (including the Moruya Country Market at Riverside Park on the 6th March), so come along and have a chat if you see us. Presentations to Council

ABE gave a presentation to the Public Access session of Council on 2nd February about the importance of consulting with and really listening to the Eurobodalla community to inform Council decisions and activities. We are planning to present again on the morning of 2nd March when we will be talking about the need for Council to obtain and act upon reputable expert advice regarding important issues within the Eurobodalla. Copies of these presentations are available on the ABE website and you can watch them live by contacting Council's executive services office (council.meetings@esc.nsw.gov.au) to register before the meeting to obtain a Zoom link to gain access. Listeners will be required to have their video and microphone turned off at all times. ABE will also post the relevant Zoom link on the Recent Public Presentations page of our website.

ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE. Are an individual owner or leasee? ARE YOU A NON-RESIDENT RATEPAYER WHO WOULD LIKE TO VOTE? Voting registration forms now available on Council’s website

Registration forms for non-resident voters are now available on the Eurobodalla Shire Council’s website. If you are an individual owner or leasee, then this is the correct form to use. If you share ownership or a lease with other people, you can nominate just one of the owners or leasees to go on the roll, and this is the correct form to use.

As Eurobodalla Shire is not divided up into wards, you can ignore any of the questions on these generic forms which mention wards.

Please note that the forms on Council’s website are normal PDF files which cannot be edited, and so must be printed out before being manually filled in. ABE is working on making editable versions of these files (which can be electronically filled in) available on our website soon. ABE will be clarifying whether digital signatures can be used on these forms, or whether they will still need to be printed out for manual signing before being despatched to Council.

Registration forms can be submitted up until 26th July 2021, but it is advisable to get them in well before this date. Stay up to date….

Stay up to date with the latest news from A Better Eurobodalla by joining our mailing list HERE