Cuts to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), managing the effect of cats on the environment and seal management in Narooma sparked debate on February 13.

A previous director of the Snowy Mountains National Park, Ross McKinney, accused the Office of Environment and Heritage of a “systematic dismantling” of the NPWS. He urged the council to lobby on behalf of the service.

Deputy Mayor Anthony Mayne suggested the next step in managing cats in the Eurbodalla, after the successful cat-bib trial, was to explore a state government imposed “cat curfew”. He said this would bring NSW in line with the ACT and Victoria, and he could see no downside.

Resident Peter Bernard said council must act on Narooma’s seals, before the population exploded, like Batemans Bay’s flying fox colony did in 2016. He said he had heard rumours of people intending to shoot the seals.

A motion for the Eurobodalla to enter the proposed Canberra Region Joint Organisation (CBRJO) (as described in a 2017 NSW State Government Bill) was passed.

Councillors Patrick McGinlay, Maureen Nathan and Phil Constable worried previous incarnations of the CBRJO were dysfunctional, and, should the council wish to leave the group, an act of Parliament would be required. 

The trio feared joining without knowing the regulations would prove an expensive burden. “I hope it doesn’t become a talk-fest at the expense of our community,” Cr Constable said.