December 2025 Mayor's Message

Published on 08 December 2025

It is a busy time of year for all of us here in Berrigan Shire with harvest in full swing, the end of the school year and Christmas preparation in full swing.

Speaking of Christmas preparation, there are groups of dedicated volunteers in each of our towns who work tirelessly behind the scenes for many months to put on our annual town celebrations.  I congratulate the Berrigan community for its spectacular event on 5 December and strongly recommend you consider attending the events in Barooga (14 December), Finley (20 December) and Tocumwal (21 December).  I am told that a special visitor in a red suit has been booked to attend each of these celebrations so be sure to bring the youngest members of your families as well.

While our final council meeting for the year was on 3 December this is a busy time of year for our councillors.  Between us we will be attending all of the end of year celebrations of our local schools to help celebrate our young people and their achievements this year.  It is always a joy to attend these events.

We received some very good news following my meeting with the Communications Minister’s Office late last month with Telstra advising that it would be increasing the capacity of mobile coverage in Tocumwal.  This is fantastic to hear and I sincerely hope that it resolves the long- standing mobile connectivity issues experienced during the tourist season.  Council will be keeping a watching brief on this.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our interim CEO Mark Dupe and council staff for their hard work in 2025.  I would also like to thank my fellow councillors for their commitment and contributions.

To you all, I would like to wish you a wonderful festive season.  Keep safe and enjoy the time with friends and family.