A community committee has called on Snowy Monaro Regional Council to investigate a potential transfer of the Berridale hostel. Photo: Gail Eastaway.
A council will push ahead with investigating a “potential suitor” for a Berridale site as part of a divestment process.
At a recent meeting, Snowy Monaro Regional Council (SMRC) voted to move ahead with a plan for the future use of the Snowy River Hostel, at Berridale.
It followed a recommendation from the Snowy River Hostel Committee, which made the request earlier this month.
In a letter to the council, the committee called for the hostel site (and the buildings) to be leased or transferred to Currawarna Assisted Living.
The property is one of two properties councillors voted to transfer to external parties in late 2020, as part of its divestment from residential aged care.
The other, Yallambee Lodge at Cooma, has already been handed over to not-for-profit provider Respect Aged Care.
During the meeting, councillor Reuben Rose sought to also give Currawarna “supervised access” to the facility and documents for its due diligence process.
He described these investigations as the “first step” in handing over the facility.
“That is, we’re not making any decisions about the outcome, but we are actually exploring the process.”
His motion also called on the company to make a presentation to the council, and for councillors to receive a report on the topic.
He had initially flagged a deadline for SMRC to receive that report by its next meeting, but CEO Noreen Vu warned the timeline would be “a bit tight”.
In response, he agreed to have the deadline removed.
“I’m happy to take that April [deadline] out.”
But councillor Tricia Hopkins pushed back on Point D (the proposed report back to councillors), describing it as “jumping ahead and pre-empting some decisions”.
In the discussion, she said that while she supported the proposed investigations, it risked locking the council into a particular approach.
“All of a sudden, we’re pre-empting and we’re taking transfer of ownership … I feel like Point D puts in a position of a pre-determined outcome.
“We’re only at step one.”
In response, councillor Rose said his proposal would ensure SMRC was prepared to make further decisions in the future.
“The problem here is the clock is ticking on this process … The crucial thing is to get the council’s input, in relation to what this would require.
“Without Point D, this has got no point at all, really.”
Cr Hopkins’ attempt to have that removed failed after no one seconded it.
Councillor Lynda Summers sought advice from SMRC staff regarding the legality of the proposal.
“Is it OK that we’ve actually signalled out a potential suitor without going to the broader market, in a formal sense?”
Ms Vu said this approach would see the council consider the option in more depth, without committing to further steps.
“[The motion is] around supporting the further exploration of options – we made sure it was around that specific word, not so much saying that it goes to Currawarna.”
The perspective was echoed by Mayor Chris Hanna, who said future decisions would progress the issue.
“[When] we’re providing Currawarna with access to the building, they might turn around and say, ‘No, this is too hard’ … We need them to be able to do that work.
“That’s what’s supported in the motion.”
Councillor Tanya Higgins called on her fellow councillors to support the proposal.
She said SMRC needed to “work smarter, not harder”, with the motion being an opportunity to collect information so they could move ahead with the process.
“I think we should just get out of our own way, sometimes.
“Currawarna is a wonderful example of what communities can achieve when they get behind themselves. I would love for something like this for Berridale and the people of Berridale.”
Meeting documents state the facility has been vacant since March 2024, with the three adjacent lots being valued at $2 million in 2025.
