No work ever happens in Austral Street

There are only six homes in the street, but the residents believe they are the forgotten few!

They are the occupants of residences in Austral Street and even though they stress they pay rates, they claim they get nothing for them.

They point out the shocking condition of the road in the street, the overgrown areas of land and constant flooding which prevents coming in and going out.

86 year old Bill Nolan built his home in Austral Street back in 1966 and has seen it all.

“I’ve had flood waters up to my front steps, the streets have been a mess for as long as I can remember, and absolutely nothing gets done,” he said.

“I’ve written stacks of letters to council, but now been told not to bother.

“I’ve even been told that it’s not such a big deal, they’ll bring in the heavy machinery to get us out if we get flooded in!”

Bill said he was told by a councillor that a name change to Ken Butler Avenue was being contemplated.

“That’s all well and good, but they still said nothing was going to happen to improve the situation.

“We’ve been told there’s only six homes, so it’s unlikely anything will take place.  

“We’re the forgotten people.  In fact, I doubt many people even know the street exists.”

Another resident, Guy Taylor (40) has only been living in the street for about a year, but he is living in the home where his aunty resided for 25 years.

“Across the street is land with grass more than a metre high,” he said.

“We’ve already had two snakes this year - it’s a disgrace.

“Can you believe, this is supposed to be a cul-de-sac?  The road just becomes an empty, over-grown paddock.

“There might only be six of us, but we all pay rates.”

Bill said he believed the land was owned by the railways, but they were not prepared to clean it up.

“The RFS won’t tidy it up either because there is a dispute over the ownership.”

Bill showed the Champion Post where a drain was ‘supposed to be in place.’

“But as you can see, it is completely overgrown and now there’s a big tree growing out the middle of it.

“The flood waters prevent us from coming and going, and then just sits there.  It takes a long time for it to get away.”

Parkes Shire General Manager, Kent Boyd said council would be happy to talk to the residents about their concerns.

“I've had our records searched and since we upgraded the crossing we really haven't had any complaints,” Mr Boyd said.

“Maybe an odd one about pot hole patching.

“We would be more than happy to discuss with residents their concerns, work out what they are and how to resolve them.”