It’s been another busy month in and around Horsham, and whilst the weather might be cooling down and the daylight hours getting shorter, there’s no sign of stopping the action happening right around the municipality.
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Councillors and directors undertook their annual rural tour earlier this month and as always, we were encouraged by the work occurring in every corner of our patch. We had the chance to meet with a great number of community and sporting groups and committees, as well as businesses, and hear about the issues affecting them right now and how we as council can assist them. We also had a chance to see some of the fantastic work being done by our own staff and were incredibly proud.
One such example of the people who make this area what it is is a woman by the name of Cynthia Hill. Last month I had the great honour of acknowledging Cynthia’s contributions to the Taylors Lake Hall Committee which she’d just retired from after 50 years of service. It was lovely to see the respect and admiration all generations of the committee have for Cynthia and while she won’t be easily replaced, it seems there are many able and willing hands prepared to continue the work.
On the same day, I had the pleasure of speaking at the International Women’s Day event at the Horsham Town Hall. There was so much inspiration, joy and passion shared amongst the group that day. We have some incredible women living amongst us here in Horsham and their stories are truly amazing.
Continuing the theme of diversity, we also saw the LGBTI Equality Roadshow come to town, and we celebrated Cultural Diversity Week. Both occasions provided the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing those in our community who, for whatever reason, can experience marginalisation on a regular basis. Tolerance, patience, and a willingness to understand each other is more important now than ever before.
A trip to Canberra earlier this month with other local mayors and CEOs provided the opportunity for the Wimmera to get face-to-face with ministers and plead our case on a number of issues. We undertook two solid days walking the halls of Parliament House and advocating for a better deal for rural Victorians. We’re hopeful that the trip will prove fruitful and look forward to continuing the conversations that we started as the year progresses.