Wagga mayor announced under “exceptional circumstances” that the Oasis Aquatic Centre will offer free entry when the mercury hits 41 degrees.
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Oasis will offer free general admission until the next council meeting, which is held on January 29th.
The NSW government argued on Wednesday that it would be illegal for the Wagga City Council to drop the entry charges during extreme heat conditions.
However, mayor Greg Conkey said under new advice from the local government he had the “authority” to change the centre’s fees.
“It was originally denied, because the fees charged could not be changed and we were under the impression from the office of the local government that we couldn’t change the fees until a full council meeting was held to discuss these fees and charges,” Cr Conkey said.
“The advice we’ve received this morning is that now the mayor can make this decision and that the council can ratify that decision at the first available council meeting.
“I have texted all councillors and I have received six responses so far that are supporting this view, so I am basing this decision on the support of the councillors.”
The councillors will discuss the full charges of the Oasis at the next council meeting to decide whether this initiative should be extended to February.
Cr Conkey said opening the pool for free general entry is “one way that council can assist the community” during the heatwave.
Earlier, councillor Dan Hayes blamed the state government’s “ridiculous bureaucracy” for refusing council the ability to open Oasis’ doors for free.
“This government spent all their time trying to merge councils rather than looking at ways to support and help them provide services for the community,” Cr Hayes said.
Wagga resident Bo McNair regularly attends the aquatic centre and welcomed the news for all to attend.
“In this heatwave, I think this is a really great idea,” Ms McNair said.
“I come everyday and I buy sessions, which is cheaper at a time, but it’s $4 for my daughter to come and free for her son but to come everyday for people with five kids, they can’t afford it.
“A lot of these underprivileged kids don’t have air conditioning at home and if they can come here for free, parents are likely to bring them because they can’t afford to pay $4 for each child.”
Ms McNair said the initiative is “a bit late” and hopes that it will continue until mid-February.
