Loddon Shire Mayoral Column 1 February
Published on 01 February 2022
Australia Day congratulations
Last Wednesday saw a number of events taking place across our Shire as communities came together to celebrate Australia Day 2022.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank community groups and volunteers for once again organising these fantastic local celebrations for Australia Day.
I had the privilege of attending Australia Day events at Serpentine, Inglewood (on behalf of Councillor Murphy) and Pyramid Hill. It was terrific to see a great turn out at these events, including nearly 200 people at Pyramid Hill.
We also heard from some excellent Australia Day guest speakers. I was fortunate to be present to hear from Chief Executive Officer of Ambulance Victoria Professor Greg Sassella at the Serpentine Australia Day event and Sports Industry Expert Ms Sally Tucker at the Inglewood celebrations.
I also had the pleasure of listening to Chief Executive Officer of Disability Justice Advocacy Mr Trevor Carroll speak at the Pyramid Hill event.
The day’s celebrations also saw the presentation of the Loddon Shire Australia Day Awards.
I’d like to congratulate Citizen of the Year Michael Rose from Inglewood Ward, and Young Citizen of the Year Bridget Baker from Terrick Ward.
Congratulations also go to the Pyramid Hill Football Netball Club, which was awarded the Community Event of the Year (Community Practice Match Series).
I’d also like to acknowledge and congratulate recipients of the Community Service Awards (these are for each ward of the Shire): Jaqui Verley (Boort), Joan Bradley (Inglewood), Helen O’Donohue (Terrick) and Alan Mulraney (Wedderburn). (No nominations were received for Tarnagulla.)
Finally, I’d like to congratulate all the students who won school-based awards and Highly Commended recipients.
Community Plan allocations
Council held its first Meeting of Council for 2022 last week, with quite a few items on the agenda.
This included Council approving $109,525 in funding as part of the 2021/22 Community Plan allocations.
Council commits funds from its annual budget to ensure a number of community planning projects are completed. Annual community plan funding is based on a $50,000 allocation per ward (five Wards totalling $250,000) and a $500,000 Community Planning Strategic Fund allocation.
The approved Community Plan allocations will see a contribution of funding towards a number of projects. These include Stage 3 of the Bridgewater Memorial Hall Redevelopment, disabled car park at Newbridge Hall, extension of the footpath along the Wimmera Highway in Newbridge, and Dingee Historical Wall Information Board.
No Community Plan applications were submitted from Boort and Wedderburn wards.
Asset management plans adopted
Council also adopted asset management plans – the Parks, Open Spaces and Streetscapes Asset Management Plan and the Recreation, Leisure and Community Facilities Asset Management Plan.
Both plans outline key elements involved in managing Council’s assets associated with parks, open spaces and streetscapes; and recreation, leisure and community facilities. They combine management, financial, engineering and technical practices to outline a framework that will ensure that the level of service required by Council and the community is provided at the lowest long-term cost and within the limits of Council’s fiscal constraints.
COVID Event Plan support
At its meeting, Council resolved to remove the Tier 2 COVIDSafe Event Plan from the Event Sponsorship – COVID Event Planning Support Program criteria.
It will be replaced with new criteria: events expecting over 1,000 patrons.
This replacement recognises that the COVID-19 Public Events Framework three-tier system, previously used for eligibility criteria for the Event Sponsorship program, is no longer in use by the State Government.
Wedderburn Pacing Cup
It was great to attend the Wedderburn Pacing Cup and Trotters Cup on Sunday at Donaldson Park, which had a wonderful crowd, and was a fantastic day.
Council to be a proud sponsor of the Wedderburn Pacing Cup, and as Mayor it was an honour to present the winners with the Loddon Shire Pacing Cup, along with club President Bruce Hargreaves. The Pacing Cup was won by Puntarno Stride, owned by E Stride, and driven by Bailey McDonough.
In addition to the Pacing Cup, Loddon Shire Council has a long history of sponsoring local sporting clubs, community groups, and events.
To find out more about Council grants, visit Council's website.
Citizenship ceremony congratulations
Last week I also had the honour of presenting a citizenship certificate to our newest Australian citizen, Mr Timothy Corbett, who is formerly from New Zealand.
I’d like to congratulate Timothy, who made the Australian Citizenship Pledge during a ceremony at the Council Chambers last Tuesday.