Signing off

In this my last Mayoral column I would like to express what an honour and extraordinary experience it has been to be the first popularly elected Mayor of our great community, now 124 years old and still going strong. I thank you for entrusting this role to me.

We have risen from a sparsely populated indigenous fishing area to a commercial whaling area, to a modest Federation suburb albeit with some grand buildings, through to one of the most stunning urban environments anywhere in Australia and indeed far beyond.

But what is important above all is our sense of community – our many local friendships, our great local schools, our local sporting clubs, our artistic and cultural activities and our highly valued social services, to mention just a few aspects of our local community.

In this fragmented and often angry world, our local community is an essential part of our well-being. And we need to feel some control over our local services and our local environment.

It is to be hoped that the State Government has come to understand the depth of this feeling that many people have for their local communities and the sense of disempowerment that comes with larger units of government.

It is a great pleasure to be able to sign off in the knowledge that our immediate future as a local democratic community is secure.

We are also fortunate that we have many candidates for Mayor and Councillors who share these community values and have the capacity to implement them. I am confident that, going forward, our council and community will be in good hands.