Council
19 September, 2024
Councillors bid farewell
MOYNE Shire councillors Ian Smith, Daniel Meade and Damian Gleeson have announced they will not recontest at next month’s council elections.
Western District Newspapers spoke with the outgoing councillors on Monday following their final council meeting.
Cr Smith said he felt it was time to open the door for “new eyes to come in” after having been a councillor for eight years, including two stints as mayor.
“I think eight years is a good term to put in and give someone else an opportunity,” he said.
“It has not been without challenges.
“COVID was difficult but looking back, under good management, we got through.
“We had good direction from (former chief executive officers) Brett (Davis) and Bill (Millard) and we got through all the zoom meetings.”
Cr Smith acknowledged he had been reflecting on some of the things he had been able to help the shire achieve over the years when sitting for his final council meeting.
Among the points of pride for the councillor was the almost $11.2 million in funding for roads around Woorndoo and Chatsworth, which he had fought to secure in May 2022 under the Remote Roads Upgrade Pilot Program.
As Western District Newspapers reported at the time, the funding was announced under the Morrison Coalition Government, and Cr Smith had been a driving force behind efforts to keep the pressure up to ensure the Albanese Labor Government honoured the funding.
“The big-ticket items, the feathers in my cap, was the remote road funding which really put some money into a more remote part in the northern parts of the shire,” he said.
“There have been many great things but some of the things coming forward, such as the skate park in Port Fairy and the East Beach redevelopment, are exciting.
“We also helped to install new lights at Wilson’s DC Farran Oval, new lights at Port Fairy and those coming to Koroit - these are great legacy things which really help communities and the volunteers.”
Cr Smith said he felt Moyne Shire Council was being left with solid financial footing.
“It’s a comfortable financial position,” he said.
“We’ve got a great team working behind the scenes to make sure our budgets are in good condition.
“If there’s a disaster such as a bushfire, we can step in and help immediately because we have a strong financial reserve.”
Cr Smith said he was looking forward to doing a bit of farming and getting a few good nights’ sleep in life after council.
“It’s been fantastic working with the council - we’ve got a new CEO on board, and some stability for the new council moving forward,” he said.
During the final council meeting before caretaker period began from midday on Tuesday, Garvoc-based Cr Meade also announced he would not be recontesting the election in what was a surprise decision.
“I’ve enjoyed my last eight years but it’s time for a change,” he said.
“I’d certainly like to thank everyone who has helped me over the last eight years, my fellow councillors, the whole council team who work hard to deliver – I wish them all the best for the future.
“I also want to thank my wife, Michaela, and my family who have supported me all the way through.”
Cr Meade said councillors had worked well to deliver strong results for Moyne, from guiding efforts through the COVID-19 pandemic through to big ticket infrastructure items which will benefit generations to come.
“No one councillor can achieve anything on their own, but as a council we’ve been able to achieve some great things of the past eight years,” he said.
“Especially during COVID-19, just to continue operating and giving everyone a job still was a big highlight.
“A couple of projects which have been good to see were the new community hub at Garvoc, the Panmure female changerooms opened, and some of the roadworks which have been done around the east of the shire.
“As a collective, the agreement and gaining funding for the Port Fairy Skate and Play was a huge achievement, and it was great to see the upgrades at Mcarthur such as the splash pad and the pool.”
Cr Gleeson also announced he would not be running for another term during this week’s Ordinary Council Meeting, citing a moment of introspection when considering what he could offer as a community representative and what he could offer a councillor, which he had laid out for himself in the form of a letter.
“A year ago, I wrote a letter to myself about community versus council,” he said.
“I’ve enjoyed my four years but I found it challenging and I was conflicted by conflict, in the sense I’m committed to community groups and quite often decision-making was complicated by it.
“I cooked the barbecue at the finals over the weekend and I just loved it - I enjoy that stuff, so for me the way forward is just back in the community.
“When I filled in the application to go again this year, I didn’t have any urgency to ring up and make an appointment – when that was the case, I knew I was done.”
Cr Gleeson, reflecting on his four years as a councillor, said he had admired the way council staff worked through the pandemic to deliver results for the community.
“I was really impressed during COVID-19 to have leaders like Daniel Meade as mayor, and Bill Millard as CEO, who steered us through that,” he said.
“The contributions made by staff, which often goes unseen, was phenomenal while they dealt with something we’d never seen before.
“The group put in place to guide us through the pandemic had something like 105 meetings over 18 months, so even though I didn’t contribute greatly I was so proud of that leadership.”
A consistent saying Mr Gleeson has used at council meetings was noting most of the good in Moyne Shire comes off the back of its volunteers – a view which he hopes the new council embraces to deliver equitable results across the shire.
“There are so many organisations which, if they relied on council, they wouldn’t exist - be it the local cricket, footy and netball clubs which are all driven by volunteers,” he said.
“I’m a chairman at the local community bank and I sit on a couple of committees, so I need to be a better leader there and put more time into it.
“You only get one vote as a councillor and I do get frustrated by equity and how we treat volunteers differently across the shire.
“The perception is Port Fairy gets everything, and it’s hardly the case.”
At the close of nominations on Tuesday, Cr James Purcell had also not renominated