Councillors during Tuesday night’s meeting made some changes to the mayor’s interim policy to allow free entry to Oasis when the temperature exceeds 41 degrees.

The council’s general manager will now be able to declare a free entry day in advance based on the next day’s weather forecast rather than monitoring real-time temperatures.

Councillors welcomed the change as being more fair to paying visitors and would allow people to make plans ahead of time.

Cr Rod Kendall requested the motion be changed prior to debate.

“The reason I am suggesting that is most people know what the forecast is for tomorrow and they can make their plans,” he said.

“If all of a sudden at 2pm, unexpectedly, the temperature reaches 41 degrees, people haven’t got a chance to plan to make use of a facility we are making available to the community.

“It would be a much more sensible inclusion.”

Earlier this month, Cr Greg Conkey used his discretionary power as mayor to allow for free entry to Oasis in response to a record-breaking heatwave.

Cr Dallas Tout said he had met “a lot of people in the refugee area” who were thankful for the policy.

“They had quite emotional reactions because they were not in the position to afford it,” he said.

“We will never know how much safer it was for people instead of the river.”

Cr Dan Hayes asked what the rationale was behind choosing 41 degrees as the threshold.

Acting general manager Janice Summerhayes said the temperature had been based on the Bureau of Meteorology’s definitions.

“We have taken some evidence on that...40-plus conditions can place stress on communities,” she said.

Council staff had initially been told by the NSW Office of Local Government that is was not legal to modify established prices.

Cr Conkey said staff continued to question the Office and were told the next day that the mayor could change prices but not the general manager.

Cr Hayes thanked staff for “pushing further”.

Cr Kendall said the response to the free entry had shown to the state and federal governments a need for a “quality and quantity of still water” around Wagga.

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