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The Moorabool News – 30 November, 2021 Page 3
Sullivan secures second term By Lachlan Ellis The Mayor of Moorabool Shire has been reelected for a second consecutive term, with a new Deputy this time around. Cr Tom Sullivan was re-elected with an absolute majority of four votes, while the new Deputy Mayor, Cr Tonia Dudzik, was elected for her first term unopposed. The Statutory Meeting of Council on Wednesday 24 November began with Mayor Sullivan thanking his fellow Councillors, and Council CEO Derek Madden for the past year. Councillors and Mr Madden then thanked Cr Sullivan for his hard work as Mayor during a challenging period, since taking office in November 2020. Councillors had high praise for the Mayor, from his support for first-year Councillors Moira Berry, Rod Ward, and Ally Munari, to his “fair, honest and easy-going” nature (Cr Dudzik) and strong relationship building with politicians (Cr Edwards). Cr Tatchell thanked the other “old bull” on Council for completing the “extraordinary task” of taking on a first-year Council, and being “not just a leader, but a teacher”. “You’ve managed it in a way that I would never have thought possible…in terms of where we sit after 12 months, we’ve been very lucky to have a person of your calibre,” Cr Tatchell concluded.
Mr Madden said it has been an incredibly challenging year for the organisation, but also the community of Moorabool. “Having the steady hand and wise counsel [of Cr Sullivan] – we might not have agreed on everything over the year, but I think we’ve worked very well together,” he added. Following these messages of thanks, Council unanimously voted for the Mayor’s new term to go for one year (as opposed to two years), and Cr Sullivan was nominated by Cr Tatchell, while Cr Edwards nominated Cr Munari for Mayor. With Crs Tatchell, Dudzik, Berry and Sullivan voting for Cr Sullivan, the Mayor was declared re-elected with an absolute majority. For the Deputy Mayor, Councillors again voted unanimously for a year-long term, with Cr Edwards putting forward Cr Dudzik’s name for the role, while Cr Munari nominated Cr Ward, who declined. “I’d like to thank Cr Munari for the nomination, but I do believe that it’s important – I said at the meeting last week, I support diversity,” Cr Ward said. “I’m in favour of gender equity, so I won’t be accepting that nomination. I support Cr Dudzik’s nomination.” With no further nominations for Deputy Mayor, Cr Dudzik was declared Deputy Mayor for the next 12 months.
West Ward Councillor Tom Sullivan has been elected for a second term as mayor for Moorabool Shire Council. Photo – Helen Tatchell
Program to help working parents By Lachlan Ellis Three local schools have received over $200,000 each to provide Out of School Hours care (OSHC) to students for the first time. Under Round 2 of the Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) Establishment Grant initiative, Mt Egerton, Lal Lal and Bungaree Primary Schools will receive $75,000 per year from the State Government, for three years to fund an OSHC program from 2022. Mt Egerton Principal, Tegan Bell, said the funding from the State Government had been sought after for years. “I actually looked into it back in 2019…because we’re a small school, it’s just not viable [without a grant],” Ms Bell told the Moorabool News. “At the moment, parents need to be able to collect their children when school finishes. We hope this grant allows parents to either find work or extend their hours if they’re not working from home.” Mt Egerton’s OSHC program will be run by third party OSHC provider OSHClub, which Ms Bell said would cater to the school’s students. “It’ll be really good for the kids because they’ll be able to participate in a number of activities that OSHClub will provide. They’re based on the students’ needs and interests, so this will benefit not only parents, but our students too,” Ms Bell said. “It’d be great if we could pick up a few extra enrolments, we’d love to grow the school. Hopefully having this service available will make people not overlook our school.” It is hoped that when the funding ends, Mt Egerton Primary School will have enough students to fund an OSHC program without State Government assistance. Mt Egerton currently has 14 students enrolled with 15 for 2022. Lal Lal PS has 32 students and Bungaree 19 enrolled.
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