Ms Luck said the association worked primarily as an umbrella organisation, consulting with the community, groups, businesses and other entities to improve the local area.

They would also work this way with outlying areas, such as Dalton, Jerrawa, Bredalbane, Collector, Jerrara and others, she said.

“From Gunning, 70 per cent of people go out of [area] to work,” Ms Luck said. 

“It is a dormitory suburb of Canberra [yet] 14,000 vehicles on average pass Gunning every day, just 1.2km away from the main street of the town. 

“There is no … high school so the children travel to Yass, Goulburn or Canberra. This brings a dissection of the youth community.”

Gunning’s biggest challenge was “a lack of communication. The catch-cry many Gunning people use is, ‘We didn’t know that was on’, ‘No one asked me what I thought’ and ‘I didn’t know what to do’.”

The association would work to update information on business and community directories on the council’s website, she said.

Over summer, they would conduct surveys, explore social media avenues, talk to community members and host social activities, such as a Christmas party.

After Ms Luck’s presentation, Mayor Brian McCormack said on behalf of the councillors, “We forward to working with the group.”