Loddon Shire Mayoral Column 15 June
Published on 15 June 2021
Loddon Shire CEO to retire next month
As you may have already heard (or read in local media), Council’s Chief Executive Officer Phil Pinyon will be retiring on 3 July 2021.
At a Special Council Meeting last week, Council appointed Jude Holt as interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Ms Holt will commence with Council on 5 July 2021, and will be with Loddon Shire Council until a new CEO is appointed.
Jude has been a local government professional for 25 years, holding senior management and executive positions for 20 years at the Loddon Shire Council.
Since leaving Loddon Shire, she has worked in the water sector and a catchment management authority before returning to local government. Her particular areas of expertise are in finance, risk management, asset management, compliance and governance.
Although Phil is with us a little while longer yet, on behalf of Councillors, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Phil for his service to Council for the past five years.
During his tenure, Phil has overseen the development and completion of numerous projects, strategic documents, advocacy efforts, and has formed successful partnerships.
COVID-19 vaccines
Eligibility for vaccinations now applies to anyone aged over 40, as well as for specific groups of people aged under 40.
If you are over 50 years old, you’re eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine – the recommended vaccine for anyone aged 50 and over is AstraZeneca.
Within Loddon Shire a number of the GP clinics are offering AstraZeneca to patients, so you can contact your GP to see if they are offering it and make an appointment.
If your GP clinic isn’t offering the vaccine you can attend the Bendigo Community Clinic at 113 to 133 Mollison Street Bendigo. You can walk up or make an appointment via https://bendigohealth.org.au/registerforvaccine/
As at 14 June, the Clinic website advises that there are limited walk-in appointments for AstraZeneca and Pfizer for those in eligible groups, and waiting times may be experienced.
If you’re aged 40 to 49 years, the recommended COVID-19 vaccine is the Pfizer vaccine. You can receive this vaccine through the Bendigo Community Clinic via an appointment.
To make an appointment, you need to visit the Bendigo Health website to register. You will then be sent a link to make an appointment for a day and time that suits you.
Visit https://bendigohealth.org.au/registerforvaccine/
Run for Resilience
Loddon Shire is proud to support Active Farmers Bridgewater and the 2021 Run for Resilience in Bridgewater on Sunday 18 July (subject to COVID-19 restrictions).
There is a course suited for everyone – be it five kilometres, 10 kilometres or 21 kilometres.
Active Farmers play a pivotal role across Australia, with a vision of ‘building stronger and more resilient farming communities’.
The inaugural Run for Resilience, held in October last year at Mangoplah in New South Wales, was designed to provide a challenging, fun and family friendly event.
The Run for Resilience at Bridgewater will provide the community with an opportunity to get together, have some fun and enjoy the community connection.
For more details or to register, visit
www.activefarmers.com.au/runforresiliencebridgewater
Please note, the event is governed by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, as well as any COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time, which may impact Run for Resilience at Bridgewater, including its postponement.
Victoria Landcare awards nominations open
The Victorian Government is inviting nominations for the 2021 Victorian Landcare Awards, which recognise individuals and community groups excelling in sustainable agricultural practices, environmental protection, conservation of land and waterways, coastlines and biodiversity.
Fifteen categories are now open for nominations, including seven Victorian-only categories and eight national categories. Victorian winners of the national categories will go forward as nominees for the 2022 National Landcare Awards.
If you know an individual, group or organisation making a difference to the environment and sustainable land use, nominate them for a Victorian Landcare Award.
Nominations close Wednesday 30 June.
For more information visit www.landcarevic.org.au/
Getting prepared for tax time
With the end of June fast approaching – and the end of the financial year, we start to look towards tax time.
The Australian Taxation Office has tailored toolkits to help people to prepare and lodge their tax return.
Although these toolkits are aimed at tax professionals, they contain helpful information for the general public. This includes work-related expenses (what can and cannot be claimed), income (what income needs to be declared), and record keeping (keeping the right records to substantiate claims and not miss out on a deduction).
There are also specialised toolkits for people in building and construction, health, education, government, retail, real estate, small business and more.
These general and tailored toolkits are available via www.ato.gov.au/taxtimetoolkit