By Cr Colleen Fuller

If you haven’t heard, nominations are open for Gunnedah Shire’s 2026 Australia Day Awards.

This is a wonderful opportunity to nominate an outstanding individual or group for their contributions and achievements over the past 12 months.

There are so many people in our community quietly working away day after day, giving their time, giving their skills and talents, to better our community. And many of them are volunteers.

Volunteers enhance our communities. They work many hours unseen and unheard in sporting teams and community organisations and groups for events and causes, without asking for anything in return. And we want to reward that.

Award categories include:

• Citizen of the Year (21 and over)

• Young Citizen of the Year (20 and under)

• Ossie & Beryl Campbell Memorial Volunteer of the Year

• Community and Cultural Achievement

• Max & Mikie Maas Good Neighbour Award

• Sports Person or Sports Team of the Year

• Ivan Towns Memorial Award – Coach of the Year

No doubt you can think of someone who deserves recognition for all that they do, so I urge you to nominate an exceptional individual or group today.

Nominations close at 4pm on Monday, December 8, 2025. Paper nomination forms are available from 63 Elgin Street office, The Civic, Gunnedah Visitor Information Centre, Gunnedah Shire Library and Gunnedah Memorial Pool Complex. The online fillable form can be found on the home screen of Council’s website.

Award recipients will be announced and presented at a ceremony on Thursday, January 22, 2026.

While we’re on the topic of volunteers, I’d like to talk about an upcoming event in Gunnedah.

If you’re on Facebook, you may have seen the Gunnedah unit of the NSW SES promoting a community feedback session at the Gunnedah Town Hall on Tuesday, October 28 from 2pm to 6pm.

This interactive event is an opportunity for residents to share their thoughts on the recent flood events, such as the way warnings were issued, the public information posted on social media, and the SES’s response to the events.

There will also be discussions around preparedness for future events, and how residents can help their community.

The “Big Map” of the Namoi Catchment will also be on show at the event, so locals can get a new perspective of our area.

I encourage residents to go along to this event so we can work with the SES on the best way forward for disaster preparedness and recovery in our shire.