Express MIDLAND
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
www.midlandexpress.com.au
ELECTION ON A KNIFE-EDGE
Castlemaine’s Vic Say. Photo: Eve Lamb
Advocate speaks for dual naming Eve Lamb Well-known Castlemaine Aboriginal rights activist Vic Say has spoken out in favour of place-naming measures to acknowledge the region's indigenous history. Mr Say has been working to achieve greater appreciation of the region's indigenous history for years and said he was prompted to speak out by the recent public stand taken by Kyneton resident Harry Byass who
raised concerns about the name of his own residential street, Hutton Street. The street is named after Charles Hutton, a station owner in the early 1800s who was implicated in a massacre of Aboriginal people, and Mr Byass would like to see it renamed. "I think what Harry has done is a gift because it has generated thoughtful discussion," Mr Say said. As a regular participant in Mount Alexander's Indigenous Round Table,
co-convened by Mount Alexander Shire's mayor and Jaara Jaara elder Uncle Rick Nelson, Mr Say said discussions around dual naming of Mount Alexander (Leanganook) were continuing. "We've asked the Dja Dja Wurrung Corporation to research the accurate pronunciation and spelling and then we'll recommend to the council to proceed with the dual naming of the mountain," he said. Continued page 11.
The local government election rested on a knifeedge in two of Macedon Ranges' three wards, with first preference numbers too close to call and results determined by preferences. Annette Death swept to victory early in East Ward heralding a strong desire for Riddell representation, the first of just two candidates to achieve the required quota on first preferences alone, followed by South Ward's Rob Guthrie who campaigned on a ticket of dissatisfaction with Gisborne's future planning. Three renominating councillors were returned (Jennifer Anderson, Janet Pearce and Bill West) while two (Natasha Gayfer and Henry Bleeck) were unsuccessful, and six new councillors elected, two of whom (Rob Guthrie and Geoff Neil) have previously served on the council. In order of return, West Ward councillors are Jennifer Anderson, Janet Pearce and Mark Ridgeway. East Ward councillors are Annette Death, Bill West and Geoff Neil, and South Ward councillors are Rob Guthrie, Dominic Bonanno and Anne Moore. Jennifer Anderson was first across the line for West Ward after the tightest contest the ward has seen in living memory with a margin of just .01 per cent between three of the four top-polling candidates in the first preference count. The former three-time mayor was relieved to secure her third term following a nail-biting preference distribution. "I'm looking forward to re-engaging with the community again - it's a vital role of council," Cr Anderson said. Rob Guthrie, a former councillor for almost 10 years until 2012, held a comfortable lead in the race for South Ward. He told the Express that community dissatisfaction with the draft Gisborne Futures strategic planning document made him put up his hand again. "I wanted this to be a referendum on that document and I believe with 28.6 per cent of the primary vote I achieved that," he said. "What this council hasn't been doing is listening to the community, that document is exactly the opposite of what the community wants." Ms Death highlighted economic recovery post-COVID, carbon neutrality and crucial planning decisions like the Riddells Creek Precinct Structure Plan as the greatest challenges for the shire over the next four years. "We live in a great place with innovative, hardworking and dedicated residents who care about where we live and I look forward to supporting them," she said. HOODWINKED In the Hepburn Shire Council election, Trentham's Brian Hood swept to victory in the three-way Coliban Ward contest, ousting outgoing mayor Licia Kokocinski and Ethan Brown in third place. Mr Hood campaigned strongly on a better financial deal for Trentham from the council. * See last Friday's Castlemaine Mail for details of Mount Alexander Shire's new council.
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