Bushfires and drought were on the agenda at the Canberra Region Joint Organisation (CRJO) meeting.
Member councils discussed with ministers the absence of bushfire recovery and drought assistance funding in some areas and made a request to reconsider that decision.
"We asked why most of our councils haven't received that funding and asked them to reconsider it," said CRJO chair and Yass Valley mayor Rowena Abbey.
"There are several council areas that have not been damaged by fires, but are facing issues due to bushfires.
"An example being vineyards, who have smoke taint in their produce.
"We want to make sure we are included in the disaster recovery funding and people affected by the bushfires in our council area are also included in that support process.
"We have asked them to review financial assistance grants and how that is allocated so that more of that goes to the regional councils rather than to the cities.
"That would help us all in providing services for the community."
CRJO is working closely with the ACT on waste recycling and reduction programs.
"Yass Valley sends a lot of our waste to recycling [in the] ACT [and the] centre is being upgraded, so we can send more to recycle there," Cr Abbey said.
"We are working closely with the ACT government, but want to make the federal government aware as well so that we can get grants, which will help us access long-term solutions."
Goulburn Mulwaree mayor Bob Kirk said the meeting, hosted at Parliament House, gave CRJO members an opportunity to meet with the ministers of various departments.
The meeting was attended by several ministers including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack; ACT Minister for Recycling and Waste Reduction Chris Steel; and Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government Mark Coulton.
A meeting with Darren Chester, Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel, resulted in broad discussions on working together to transition personnel to non-defence jobs.
Yass Valley Council is a member of CRJO, an organisation of local councils across the South East and Tablelands Region of NSW, which (including the ACT) form the Canberra Region.
The CRJO comprises Yass Valley, Goulburn Mulwaree, Bega Valley, Eurobodalla, Hilltops, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Snowy Monaro, Snowy Valleys, Upper Lachlan and Wingecarribbee as member councils.
