From the Mayor - 27 February 2020
It was wonderful to hear that much loved children’s author Ursula Dubosarsky will follow Morris Gleitzman as Australian Children’s Laureate for 2020–21. Her theme, Read For Your Life, recognises that reading often drops off after primary school and needs to be developed as a lifelong habit. Mosman’s Barry O’Keefe Library recently launched the ‘1000 Books Before School’ program, to encourage parents, grandparents and carers to read with young children, to champion and develop the special gift of a lifelong love of books and reading. And for NSW students in Kindergarten to Year Nine, the 2020 Premier’s Reading Challenge opens on 2 March, with details available online.
Mosman was the place to be for Seniors Festival 2020. Council’s Community Care team did an absolutely fantastic job guaranteeing the Festival events were diverse, interesting and fun. It was my great pleasure to attend both the High Tea at the Seniors Centre and the Cocktail Party at the Art Gallery.
The Mosman Men’s Shed at Georges Heights is so well patronised it has had to temporarily suspend new membership applications, but I can report that the boys are currently working on the construction of rosella, possum and micro bat boxes that will be installed in fire-affected areas, to provide shelter and protection for displaced and traumatised animals. In another fantastic community event, $68,000 was raised by locals to support BlazeAid volunteers in assisting farmers to rebuild fences and other structures destroyed by fire.
Sunday 1 March starts with Clean Up Australia, a national campaign that inspires and empowers communities to clean up and conserve our natural environment, and later that morning the Climate Act Now Rally will take place at St Leonard’s Park, North Sydney at 11am. Details can be found online.
Continuing to look ahead, Council will hold interim Mosplan 2020/21 Budget Workshops in March, with many community projects vying for funding. I and my fellow Councillors will carefully assess every project on merit, and make every endeavour to ensure that the most needed and worthwhile projects receive priority.