NEWS DESK
‘Seeds have been sowed’ for new mayor Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au
NEW mayor Nathan Conroy with Cr Suzette Tayler. Picture: Supplied
FRANKSTON has a new mayor. Cr Nathan Conroy, a first time councillor, was unanimously elected mayor at a public meeting last Thursday. Cr Conroy was elected to council at the 2020 local government elections. He received more than double the first preference votes than the next candidate in his ward. The 2021/2022 mayoral term shapes as an integral one, with both a federal and state election expected in the next 12 months. The year will be a test of the new mayor’s advocacy skills. After his election, Cr Conroy said “I want to let you all know, each and every resident, that I will do everything in my power to advocate for local amenities that will benefit families, and along with my colleagues, we are working hard to support local businesses and to improve safety and beautification. We are also doing our best to champion the community groups and wonderful volunteers, so we can build a stronger community.” Outgoing mayor Kris Bolam believes his term has put Frankston in a good position heading into next year’s elections. Cr Bolam said “the seeds have been sowed and the fruits of our labour will come to bear in the next few weeks and indeed throughout the next twelve months. In the words of former Prime Minister Paul Keating: in psychological battle stakes, we are stripped down and ready to go.”
Bolam says he is proud of council posting an improved result in the community satisfaction survey, and for the “33 per cent increase in external funding” received from other levels of government. Among the major council projects approved in the last year is the $9,128,000 COVID-19 relief and recovery package. Work also began this month on the Jubilee Park redevelopment, which is coming at a cost of $20 million to Frankston ratepayers. Cr Suzette Tayler will serve as deputy mayor in 2021/2022.
“I believe the best way to gain the respect and support of any community is by knuckling down and getting to work,” he said. “The council has done just that and the community is now in a position to emerge
from the pandemic stronger and more resilient.” Cr Bolam was the only Frankston councillor who served during the 2016-2020 term to hold onto his spot. It has not been all smooth
sailing for the new council under his leadership, with one first-year councillor ending up suspended for a month because of social media activity. Despite any bumps in the road, Cr
Lengthy lockdown lifts at long last MOST COVID-19 restrictions have finally been lifted statewide. For vaccinated people, life has returned to close to what it once was. Capacity limits at venues and events have been lifted, dance floors are back open, and mask rules have been further eased. Masks must now only be worn by primary school staff, visitors, and students in years three to six, servers at
hospitality venues, retail workers and customers, visitors and workers in hospitals or care facilities, in high risk work settings, and on public transport. The lockdown rules were lifted at 11.59pm on 18 November. It came as Victoria neared its target of 90 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Isolation rules have also changed
significantly. From now on people who come into contact with a COVID-19 case outside their home will not be forced into isolation for an extended period, only until returning a negative test result. Positive cases will now be asked to notify their workplace, school, or childcare about their diagnosis. Exposure sites will no longer be pub-
lished by the Department of Health. Premier Daniel Andrews said the changes would “allow Victoria to return to something like the normal life we remember – businesses open, the city thriving and families getting back to doing the things they love together.” Health minister Martin Foley said “by focusing on high-risk settings, cases and contacts – and safely re-
moving rules that could sweep hundreds of thousands of people into long quarantine at any one time – Victoria is charting a path for the rest of Australia for how to live with COVID-19 as a manageable endemic when cases inevitably increase nationwide.” View the current restrictions at coronavirus.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-covidsafe-settings.
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Frankston Times
23 November 2021
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