I hope you all had a great King’s Birthday long weekend, I was thrilled to once again be involved in the annual grape stomp at the Rotary Country Fair.
While I didn’t take out the win, as you’ll see in the pics below, it was great to participate alongside State and National MP’s and our local team mates.
While Rutherglen was buzzing with visitors for the Fair and Roam Rutherglen, I shared in the frustration and disappointment expressed by stall holders, business owners and visitors alike regarding the network issues for mobile and EFTPOS services on Sunday. While it’s not uncommon for large events such as these to put a strain on services, for them to be completely unavailable is another issue entirely.
This was a missed opportunity for our businesses (and visitors) on one of the busiest weekends of the year, and really highlighted the critical need for improved telecommunications right across the Shire. I want to assure our community that this is one of Council’s top advocacy priorities, and our ask is clear: that our residents have access to telecommunications networks that are reliable, affordable and have appropriate service capacity.
Given the importance of events such as these to our local economy, not to mention the safety implications of black and grey spots in our local network, this shortfall in service simply must be addressed.
We will keep you updated on our advocacy efforts, which include lobbying the Federal Local Govt Minister, the Local Federal MP and State Ministers, providing regular feedback via the Indi Telecommunications Advisory Group (ITAG) and the Ovens Murray Digital Futures Coordination Group and supporting Telstra’s bid to the Federal Government’s Regional Connectivity Program.
In more positive news, this morning I had the pleasure of officiating at a citizenship ceremony where we welcomed seven new Australian Citizens to our Shire (pictured below). It’s always such an honour to share this experience and I wish our newest citizens all the very best and a long, happy life in Indigo Shire.
Finally, I’d like to extend my congratulations to Josephine Cornish, who was recognised in the King's Birthday Honours List for her service to the community of Beechworth, and received a Medal of the Order of Australia. This is a wonderful achievement and fitting recognition of someone who has shown such dedication to her community. Congratulations Josie.
Cr Sophie Price.