Mayor's message – July 2023
Published on 03 July 2023
All right, everyone. Apologies in advance, but this is going to be a BIG one.
The last two months have been busier than ever, but incredible as well! I’ve really felt myself settle into the Mayoral role and have been feeling more confident and comfortable, even as the workload has kicked up a notch.
First and foremost, a big shout out to my littlest one who turned EIGHT last week, and celebrated in style with a teddy bear picnic and a bunch of mates. It’s such a joy to watch my kids grow and change, and their support and love buoys me up continually. It can be hard to balance being the Mayor and being a mum, especially on school holidays, but we’ve been doing our best!
Now, let’s recap some May and June highlights:
One of the most amazing things I get to do as Mayor is preside over citizenship ceremonies, helping residents of our shire take the final step in becoming an Australian citizen. It is privilege to be part of peoples’ citizenship journeys. We’re lucky, too, that Uncle Rick Nelson participates in all our citizenship ceremonies, performing a moving Welcome to Country, and providing each new Australian citizen with a blessing, offering them safe passage on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. To the fifteen new Australians living among us, congratulations, again!
In May, I was thrilled to be invited to a special event at Buda: From Budapest to Castlemaine, a celebration of Hungarian culture and community. In attendance was Mr Mihály Geiger, Victorian Consul to Hungary, and his wife, Erika. The event was organised by Marcella and Bela Paska from the Aranykalàsz Corio Geelong Dancing group, who catered and provided entertainment as well! Guests were treated to authentic goulash and Hungarian cakes, as well as traditional singing and dancing. I will admit that I got involved in the dancing – which was spirited and very fun. Everyone was so friendly and it was a joy to spend the afternoon with such good company. To celebrate the occasion, we planted a pear tree in the Buda garden.
By now, it should be no secret that I love libraries, and am particularly fond of our very own Castlemaine Library. I’m excited that the Castlemaine Library invited me back to be a guest reader at their 2023 National Simultaneous Storytime event. Each year, an Australian picture story book is chosen to be read on the same day and at the same time all around the country! This year’s book was called The Speedy Sloth, and was a beautiful story about the importance of running your own race in life, and how winning can be many different things. It was lovely to read to a group of little people (and their big people) and to stay for activities and more fun afterwards. Thank you, Jess and Stewart, for having me again, and for giving me the opportunity to add a sloth-themed dress to my wardrobe!
National Sorry Day occurs each year on 26 May, and is a day to remember and acknowledge the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. This year’s commemoration was held on the oval at Castlemaine Secondary College. Local Dja Dja Wurrung Elder, Aunty Paulette Nelson, shared a beautiful Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony, and Wadawurrung woman, Kelly Anne Blake delivered an incredibly moving and heartfelt keynote speech about her family’s experiences as part of the Stolen Generations. Also very moving were the speeches delivered by students from CSC, Winters Flat Primary School, and Chewton Primary School, who seem to “get it” a lot better than many adults I know. Thank you to everyone who attended this event. As always, only by working together can we hope to achieve true reconciliation.
National Sorry Day is followed by National Reconciliation Week, a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation is Australia. I was fortunate to attend the launch of our local National Reconciliation Week, which included the yearly Nalderun Awards and an exhibition of local Indigenous art and culture, as well as several events during the week.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to both National Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week in our shire. It fills my heart to see so many from our community so committed to reconciliation, and the words and actions of our young people, especially, give me great hope that things will only continue to get better.
In early June, I was honoured to be invited to sit on the panel during the launch of Wararack’s Community Climate Transition Plan. This plan is holistic and community-driven, and is based on the three pillars of Znet, Adaptation and Culture. I have sat on the Warack core group, on and off, during my time on Council, and am thrilled to see this plan come to fruition. Warack’s plan complements Council’s newly adopted Climate Change Strategy, and we will continue to work together and support each other as both Council and community work towards a more sustainable future.
After tireless advocacy from Campbells Creek Football Netball Club and Council, I was thrilled to attend Maree Edwards MP’s announcement of $250,000 for much-needed upgrades to the netball courts. This funding, coupled with a Council’s commitment in the recently adopted budget, will enable the courts and surrounding infrastructure to be upgraded to standard, and will be a figurative and actual game-changer for the players and supporters who use these facilities.
It was a pleasure to be invited to speak at the launch of this year’s Castlemaine Jazz Festival, and then stay on to enjoy the music (and have a dance). I brought my big kid with me, and we had an excellent time having a boogie to the opening night bands: Tek Tek Ensemble, The Seduceaphones and The Seven Ups, along with a whole bunch of other jazz-lovers.
In the middle of June, I spent the working week in Canberra with our CEO, Darren Fuzzard, attending the 2023 National General Assembly of Local Government and the 2023 Australian Council of Local Government, along with Mayors, CEOs, and Councillors from all over Australia. It was an incredible experience, both personally and professionally, as I spent the week getting to know representatives from the 537 Councils, Australia-wide, attending workshops and presentations, advocating for our shire to Federal Ministers, and (excitingly) meeting the Prime Minister! It was such an energising and recentering time, and I could not have worked harder to advocate for our Council and community. I felt so proud to represent the shire, and so proud of our shire. It was a real honour, an incredible experience, and a timely reminder of the importance of local government and why we do what we do.
Just after my return from Canberra, I snuck in one last evening out, and my dad and I attended the world-premiere of locally made documentary, Equal the Contest, as part of the Castlemaine Documentary Festival. The documentary, directed by Mitch Nivalis, details the challenges and successes of local women’s and gender diverse AFL team, the Mount Alexander Falcons, and their journey to become part of a league. I have never seen the Theatre Royal so full (of people or support). It was a wonderful event and an excellent doco. Even my dad thought so (and he’s something of a documentary connoisseur).
And there was more, so much more. But this is too long already, so that will have to do.
Over and out (for now).
Rosie