Adrian Butler is General Manager of Federation Council in the NSW Riverina. Head office is in Corowa, site of the 1893 conference that led to the Federation of Australia.

Agriculture is our main industry, supported by manufacturing, transport/logistics, retail and tourism. Major employers include the Rivalea feedmill, piggery and abattoir in Corowa and an Australian Munitions factory in Mulwala.

Throughout COVID-19, council continued major works like construction, maintenance, health, waste and other essential services. This gave the community confidence, seeing teams in yellow shirts out on the roads, building sites and gardens performing critical tasks. We also kept our saleyards going (with appropriate restrictions) and maintaining that food chain and marketplace helped sustain an active local economy.

I’ve been so proud but not surprised, at how well also our indoor staff have adapted and made things work to continue to deliver our services. Council is fortunate to have great teams across the board, and our skills in I.T, Customer Services, Communication and Engagement and Risk Management, all came to the fore in this time. This allowed many of our staff to quickly transition to working from home, while our Continuity Management Team continue to meet regularly, and have done so since the COVID-19 pandemic presented, to oversee the service changes required, and other matters, to work through the risks of COVID-19 and ensure we keep our staff, and as much as possible, our community safe.

Our Corowa office is a Service NSW agency, dealing largely with licensing and vehicle registrations. When we closed, we got feedback that some locals, including the elderly, were driving 80km to Service NSW in Albury instead. Customer service staff worried this might put people’s health at risk, so they set up a drop-box and “front access table” under our portico where customers could leave their forms. We did the same with library book returns and rates/water payments, which was important for anyone struggling to navigate the online environment.

In terms of where the community is at from the impacts of COVID-19, there is a long way to go, and Council is working really hard to engage and work with our most affected businesses on strategies. With excellent rain and cropping conditions that some say are the best since a good period in the 80’s, our farmers are finally set for successful harvests this year, which will naturally translate economically back into our towns. Council is also just about to launch an exciting new tourism brand, to attract visitors to come and enjoy our landscape, food and wine, lakes and rivers, and our rich history, arts and culture and much more. We are very proud of how not only our organisation, but also our many communities, have adapted and shown typical resilience and we are excited about the way forward.

Adrian Butler
General Manager
Federation Council