Mayor welcomes rate relief

Mayor Liz Innes has welcomed today’s announcement the NSW Government will cover six months of council rates for fire impacted households and businesses.

“Legally, we were required to send those rate notices out last week,” said Clr Innes, “and that was just cruel in my view, and something people already facing devastation didn’t need.

“Small councils like ours don’t have the capacity to fix everything we need to fix on our own.

“I went into bat for rate relief early, and so I’m very grateful the NSW Government has stepped up again to help our community,” she said.

“I encourage those affected to contact Service NSW to arrange a waiver, or a refund if you’ve already paid.”

The Mayor added Council was in discussions with the NSW Government for assistance with fee relief for new development applications to help people re-build their homes after the fires.

“The NSW Government is making the right noises and we hope to share details with you soon.”

To contact Service NSW about rate relief and other bushfire support:

• Call 13 77 88
• Visit Service NSW website
• Visit Service NSW staff at the Eurobodalla Recovery Centre, Batemans Bay Soldiers Club, 6 Beach Road, Batemans Bay