Mayor's Message 25 August, 2023

Hello everyone, 

Today the CEO and I met with our local Federal Member, Dr Helen Haines at a local government round table meeting in Wangaratta, where we raised a number of issues pertaining to our Shire.

We are very appreciative of the time we were given to discuss in detail the challenges we are all currently facing and the need for Federal Government intervention and support.

Today’s discussions centred around three key themes; roads, housing and future government funding opportunities. All Councils present shared the same frustrations which are impacting our communities, especially the state of roads.

Dr Haines organised a presentation from Nathan Dal Bon from the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, which outlined the process for how local governments can apply for funding to address the housing crisis.

In further advocacy efforts, the CEO and I also met with Ambulance Victoria’s Regional Director for the Hume Region, Narelle Capp to discuss the ongoing issue of ambulance response times, and yesterday, I sent a letter to the State Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne to express our frustration and disappointment with the time it’s taking to repair and reopen the Beechworth-Wodonga Road.

I expressed our concerns with the slowness of community messaging from Regional Roads Victoria on what was happening, with very few updates provided on the status of works, as well as the length of time it has taken to diagnose and schedule the required remediation works to the impacted culverts.

The other issue of course is the damage that’s been done to the roads used as detours, specifically the Chiltern-Beechworth Road and Reids Way, which are now in urgent need of repair.

We are hoping for a positive outcome and I will share any updates from both our meeting with Dr Haines and also our letter to the Minister.

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Sophie Price