The president of the Lake Eucumbene Chamber of Commerce has criticised the distribution of the Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund, saying the Adaminaby district has not received its fair share.

Tim Corkill, president of the chamber and chair of the Snowy Scheme Museum in Adaminaby, is calling for the fund to better support communities across the Snowy Monaro region.

The $4.2 billion Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund was established following the sale of the NSW government’s share in Snowy Hydro to the Australian government.

Mr Corkill is critical of the distribution of funds to the Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct, a $196 million state government allocation to deliver seven priority projects in Jindabyne.

“The fund should be delivering projects across the entire Snowy Mountains, including here in Adaminaby township and on Lake Eucumbene,” Mr Corkill said.

“Adaminaby is just as important to the Snowy Scheme’s legacy and now Snowy 2.0 as any one town in the region but we have received very little benefit from the fund.

“A small amount of money would go along away in Adaminaby. We desperately need to provide a tourism and economic injection into the town.”

While Mr Corkill acknowledges the importance of Jindabyne to the region’s economy and its place as the most visited town in the Snowy Monaro, he said it is time Adaminaby and other areas receive their share.

“It’s not all about Jindabyne. It’s great for their community to have so much going into the town, but it’s not fair for the rest of the region to receive nothing through the SAP,” Mr Corkill said.

Last month, a community meeting was held for locals and visitors to have their say on a range of projects needed to drive further investment, improve liveability and boost tourism in Adaminaby, Old Adaminaby, Anglers Reach and surrounding areas.

“The legacy fund could be allocated towards some of the projects identified,” Mr Corkill said.

“We see this as entirely appropriate given that Adaminaby was the site of the official opening of the Snowy Mountains Scheme in 1949 and in many ways, has been most impacted by the scheme.”

Projects identified include completing the upgrading and sealing of the Bobeyan Road to improve access to the ACT. The meeting also discussed a Lake Eucumbene shared trail to connect Anglers Reach to Old Adaminaby and Cemetery Point.

Mr Corkill said he hopes all three levels of government will support Adaminaby’s push to install electric vehicle charging stations.

“We are in the prime spot for chargers. It will help visitors coming from Snowy Valleys and into the Riverina. The closest charger to Adaminaby is in Cooma and when headed into the Snowy Valleys there isn’t one until Tumut.”