The government of NSW - Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong | Wheeler's Wisdom

The fires had resulted in fallen trees blocking the road. As soon as it rained, the bare soil was no longer stable, resulting in erosion and landslides.

The Elliott Way is the road that takes you from Tumbarumba to Cabramurra or Kiandra, mostly used by Riverina motorists heading for the snow or the coast. So on our rainy weekend, we headed to Tumbarumba. My learner-driver granddaughter was the excuse.

We lunched in Tumbarumba, as so many travellers do. There are many places to eat, from pubs and small cafes to a gourmet restaurant. You might recall my story about Gladys Berejiklian dining at The Nest when she visited Tumbarumba.

The then-Premier lunched with local government heavies. I talked with James Hayes, mayor of the merged Snowy Valleys Council, which is now responsible for Tumbarumba, and former Tumbarumba Shire President George Martin.

The Tumbarumba meeting came to nought. The merged council remains, and the "Demerge" campaign continues louder than ever.

It's a fair bet that the two-year delay in reopening The Elliott Way was due to not having a Tumbarumba Council to continually campaign for the road's restoration. Roads on the eastern side of the National Park were restored instantly.

With the road closed, all cross-mountain traffic had to go via Tumut. Tumbarumba businesses just had to forego the travellers that would normally come their way. To Sydney politicians and public servants, Tumbarumba is in an isolated corner of the state after all - a case of Tumbarumba? Where's Tumbarumba?

"Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock has told a Parliamentary hearing that it needs to 'move on' over the council amalgamations in Snowy Valleys and Cootamundra-Gundagai because she saw no reason to demerger," a DA report on November 4 said.

Can't she read? The Local Government Boundaries Commission report was released, recommending demerging Tumbarumba and Tumut. Tumbarumba people wanted a demerger. Tumut people saw no objection, the survey showed. So, with council elections coming up, why didn't the minister act?

This Liberal minister ignored the report. Couldn't care less? Once upon a time, the Country Party would have been screaming about rural matters, but today's Nationals no longer represent the country. In my opinion, there is only one National member who appears to stand up for country matters, and that's Wes Fang.

In fact, the whole Nationals apparatus in NSW seems to have become totally ineffective under John Barilaro as leader. Thank goodness he's resigned. And the new Nationals' leader? Paul Toole was the architect of the council amalgamations! What hope has Tumbarumba got?

It turns out that new Premier Dominic Perrotet is far worse for the country than any other leader. He came to power saying he was all about the western suburbs, and followed up by cancelling three dams in NSW - Mole River in the state's north, the Wyangala Dam upgrade (overflowing at the moment) and the Dungowan Dam on the Peel River, which serves Tamworth.

Coincidentally, Dungowan alone will save the government $484mill, almost exactly the cost of the $490mill subsidy for rich people to buy electric cars.

We cannot afford the electric car subsidy. We cannot afford the newly refreshed Perrotet Liberal/National NSW government. There's nothing there for us.

Back to the Elliott Way - can I suggest that this road would make an interesting day out? Your family really should see what this (hopefully) once in a lifetime bushfire did to the mountains.

At the top of the Tumbarumba side of the range, piles of horse manure provide ample evidence of brumbies. Green grass is now holding the soil. Many trees have fresh leaves, but severe damage is evident everywhere, especially if you follow the road from Cabramurra to Khancoban past the Tooma and Tumut Ponds dams.

A great day out. Stop in Tumbarumba as you pass - the NSW Government may not care, but we should.