Congo Community pressure Council to open road
ESC Public Access
There was a full house at Public Access session at Eurobodalla Shore Council on Tuesday as 5 speakers addressed the 5 councillors attending, urging council to resolve the issues and re-open Congo Road.
The speakers were Gillian Tedder (Bingie Residents Association), Katherine Maxwell (SHASA), Bernie O’Neil (A Better Eurobodalla), Catherine Taylor (nearby resident) and Joanna Weber (Congo Community Association.) Each speaker received applause form the gallery.
The only other speaker at Public Access was Paticia Helier who raised concerns about the need for the Moruya Bypass to be progressed for access to Moruya Hospital, in the light of the highway closure due to the fire in Vulcan Street last week.
Webcast of the presentations is available at https://webcast.esc.nsw.gov.au/archive/video25-0909.php
Bingie Residents Association
Gillianne Tedder Presentation
Good morning. My name is Gillianne Tedder.
Thank you for the opportunity to present to council.
I’m here in my capacity as President of The Bingie Residents Association (BRA)
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands on which we’re meeting – The Brinja Yuin people.
I thank them for their ongoing custodianship of these beautiful lands, and also for their generosity in continuing to extend the offer of reconciliation to all of us.
BRA is strongly in favour of the reopening of Congo Road North.
While our members don’t reside in the village of Congo all Bingie residents are directly impacted by this closure. Everyone in the area is now forced to use Bingie Road leading to significantly increased traffic both along Bingie Road and also at the dangerous intersection with the Princes Highway.
Safety
Our concerns are primarily about safety and amenity. I imagine you’re all aware the Congo Bingie area is very heavily forested and therefore very bush fire prone.
We appreciate this has been mentioned before however as summer approaches the importance of reinstating access along Congo Rd north becomes urgent
This is not an academic exercise for us.
It’s potentially a matter of life or death.
There was two routes in and out of our area, and now there’s only one.
This isn’t rational. It’s also directly opposite the recommendations made by the Bushfire Royal Commission after the fatal and traumatic bushfires of Black Summer in 2019 /20
Since then we’ve had 4 years of good rain. However, the science is in.
Human induced climate change means this place will get hotter.
Fires and storms will become more intense. We need to be prepared.
Residents of Meringo Congo and Bingie are only too aware of this threat and that’s why we do not accept the closure of this important second access.
We understand that emergency services supposedly have keys so they can get through the road blocks on Lot 197. This might work for the gate, but does not address the concrete blocks blocking the road. In the case of a fire, a drowning or a medical emergency timing is critical and the “set of keys” solution is not good enough.
In an evacuation situation the Bingie RFS estimates there could be around 1500 vehicles or more trying to leave the area.
BRA’s position is that Congo Rd Nth needs to be reinstated, re opened for safety’s sake so that residents and emergency services can get in and out as quickly as possible. Two roads are better than one.
I’d like to address the notion that residents pushing for the road to be reopened only have their own interests at heart, they’re only concerned about their own little patch.
I suggest this issue goes well beyond that.
Congo Campground and the Bingie Dreaming Track attract tourists from much further afield.
I was in Canberra last week and people there were asking me whether or not the road had been reopened.
Congo Rd Nth isn’t just a means of getting from A to B. It’s part of a beautiful journey that people take when they’re touring the Nature Coast.
Amenity
BRA also regrets the loss of amenity that the road closure has caused to the Shire and wider area.
People can no longer walk and cycle the quieter northern access.
Younger and older drivers are now forced to join the highway at the more dangerous Bingie Road intersection
And when there is a major incident that closes the highway,
Congo Road North is no longer available as an alternative route.
Public road
BRA respectfully remind Council that the public has a right to access paper roads.
As Council’s own email to residents after the judgement stated, the Supreme Court determined that the paper road on Lot 197 is a public road.
Council is now the road authority in this instance and therefore has an obligation to ensure access.
BRA urges Council to reopen the road.
It seems unfair. BRA notes that several other landholders along the northern portion of Congo Rd negotiated in good faith 20 odd years ago on the understanding that they were contributing to a permanent public road.
It seems unfair that these landholders came to the party in good faith and are now cut off from Congo
It’s a complex issue
We understand this is a complex issue not of your creation. You’ve inherited it and the difficult job of finding a solution.
We want to acknowledge that and also make a point of thanking council for the community consultation they’ve undertaken. It’s appreciated.
Residents have been patient and proactive and are committed to being a part of the solution.
There is a great deal of good will in the community and there are many sharp minds.
BRA hopes that council can bring them together to reach a just solution
Thank you
Public Access Presentation – Johanna Weaver Congo Community Association
9 September 2025
I make this presentation in the public interest in my capacity as the public officer of the Congo Community Association (the CCA).
I would like to thank council staff and the General Manager for their constructive engagement since the last public access presentation.
Negotiations with the Landowner
We welcome the advice that Council is negotiating with the landowner.
This has always been the CCA preferred option: direct negotiation with the Landowner so that we can find a solution that is amenable to all.
In the CCA’s view, the simplest most cost-effective option to reopen the road is for a direct land swap.
Width of the paper road vs current road standards
We understand that there may be some concern that a land swap for the paper road means that the swapped land may not be sufficiently wide to allow for the road to be reopened to vehicle traffic.
We acknowledge that the paper road is 10m wide, whereas current tarmacked road standards generally dictate a wider road reserve.
However, the length of any likely new route (which would traverse the property roughly east to west) will likely be considerably shorter than the length paper road (which traversers the property north to south).
As such a direct swap for the paper road, could allow a new road reserve that is shorter but wider than the paper road.
It is also important to recall that the existing track in use is roughly 5m wide. So, even a 10m road reserve would be twice the width of the road that the community has been driving on for decades.
Vehicle access is a must
The CCA welcomes the presentation at the last public forum from the Eurobodalla Bicycle Users Group, calling for Congo to be reopened.
They suggested a bike track as an interim measure. We support opening of a bike track, as gesture of good faith to restore some form of public access.
But this should be a rough track, not something that requires engineering or funding.
We know council funds are limited, and any funding should be directed towards reopening the road to vehicle traffic.
While bike access would be welcome, it will not alleviate safety concerns. Bike access will not help in an emergency, nor will it relieve the social isolation or economic costs.
The only thing that will address these legitimate concerns is reopening the road.
We don’t need a gold standard road
That said, we are not asking for a gold standard road.
-We do not need a tarmacked road
-We do not need the road to be 20m wide
-We do not need a road with an excessive speed limit
The community would be happy with a 5m wide gravel track, with a 60 km speed limit.
What we are asking for, is actually less fancy than some of the bike track in the region.
We just want a gravel track, that is designated as a public road.
State Funding
Even still we recognise that building a new gravel track will come with a price tag.
We understand that the Council’s budget is tight and thinly spread.
Last week, CCA met again with Dr Michael Holland MP.
We are prepared to work with him and Council to secure state funding – if this is needed.
Compulsory Acquisition
We are heartened that advice that negotiations are progressing.
That said, the 25 year history of this issue, has taught us to be cautious in our optimism.
Whilst our preference is direct negotiation. Compulsory acquisition remains a second option.
We understand there is concern that compulsory acquisition come with a huge price tag because of the extractive Industry Development Approval over the land.
In CCA’s view the DA does not extend to the northern portion of the property.
We understand others may have strong views that it does.
I have empathy for council’s position here. Some does the DA does apply. Some say it doesn’t. And Council has a limited budget.
My suggestion here is that Council should seek independent advice.
We have received quotes. An independent valuation to determine how much it could cost to acquire the land under compulsory acquisition would be around $5000.
The CCA request that Counsellors to direct council staff to obtain such an independent valuation.
That way, if – at some point in the future – Councillors need to decide about compulsory acquisition, Councillors can base your decision on independent advice, not speculation.
That would seem to me to be $5000 well spent.
There are lots of one-road in/one road out communities in the shire
Why is Congo different or special? This is a question I’ve lately.
-To start with, Congo is not a one-road in / one-road out community.
-We are a two-road in / two road-out community, and we have been for as long as living memory recalls, and as long as written records go back (1850s).
-We acknowledge that there are other one-road-in / one-road-out communities, but all of them would welcome the second road if it were a possibility.
-In Congo’s case, it is not just a possibility, it is a legal right.
-We understand there are many instances, people come to council claiming “but it has always been this way”
oBut in the case of Congo road, it is not just habitual use – or LORE
oThe public has a legal right access the public road – at LAW, not LORE.
-If Council takes no action, or takes action that does not retore public vehicle access, Councillors will be deciding to turn Congo into one road out one road in community.
-Do you, Counsellors, want to be the ones that are making the decision, or fail to take action, post black summer fires, to turn a community from a two-road-in/ two-road-out community into a one-road out / one-road-in community?
It is also important to note that the existing one-road-in / one-road-out communities in the Eurobodalla LGA receive “Special Fire Protection” under current bushfire management plans. That special treatment and funding is not given to Congo because, under these plans, Congo is described as a two-road in/out community.
In closing
·The public has a legal right of access via the paper road (albeit we can’t current use access it)
·This is not about trees – we understand some trees may need to be removed.
·That new road does not need to be gold plated: we are asking for a gravel track, that cars can drive on, slowly.
·The CCA is happy for the sand quarry to continue operating.
·We bear the landowner no animosity. We want solutions that work for all.
·That solution must be a road – or a track – that cars (and bikes and horses) can use.
Let’s re-open Congo road.
Thank you.
Encourage councillors not here to watch this reply