Summary
I reported on the Knox Disability Advisory Committee meeting, Rowville Secondary College's production of Mary Poppins, the Scoresby Fire Brigade annual dinner and the 1 km swim at Paul Sadler Swimland in Rowville. As Deputy Chair of Your Library I attended the Audit and Risk Advisory Committee. I also spent a few hours at the drop-in session for the annual plan and budget, where residents raised trees, rubbish and the everyday council services they value.
Transcript
Edited from the meeting's auto-generated captions.
Thank you, Mayor. A few items to report from Tirhatuan Ward.
Back on Tuesday the 4th of August, I attended a meeting of the Knox Disability Advisory Committee. I commend Councillor Baker for her role as chair of that committee. It was a fantastic meeting. It's a fantastic committee that is a great blend of lived experience in terms of disability, as well as people that have a deep understanding of the sector. So it was a great meeting.
On the 7th of August, I was fortunate enough to catch Rowville Secondary College's production of Mary Poppins, and it was a fantastic production. I wasn't invited formally as a councillor. I bought my own tickets, as I do every year, for the family. We often have people in our primary school community that are part of the show or know people who are. So congratulations to the cast, crew and staff, the whole Rowville Secondary College community, on another really impressive production. And I know, speaking with representatives on the night, they have another big production planned for next year. Rowville Secondary College is very well known for its sports academy and its science and maths part over in my ward, but certainly its arts and culture program is really taking off. So congratulations to the school for its production of Mary Poppins this year.
That same weekend I attended the Scoresby Fire Brigade annual dinner at the Knox Club, and Councillor Williams was there, as was Councillor Baker. Scoresby is an entirely volunteer brigade. The room on the night was full of people, past and present members, all who give up their own time to protect lives and properties right across our community. So congratulations to all the award and service recipients on the night, and I appreciated the invitation from the brigade to attend.
Also that weekend was a fantastic turnout at the local Paul Sadler Swimland in Rowville for everyone who did the 1 km swim. That is very popular in the Rowville community over that side, and yes, very big training. Some kids as young as six or seven jumping in the pool to swim a kilometre. So it was a big achievement, and the Swimland staff there at Paul Sadler do a fantastic job preparing the kids and running that day. So I commend the Swimland community there in Rowville.
Tuesday the 11th of August, in my capacity as Deputy Chair of Your Library, I attended the Audit and Risk Advisory Committee meeting. We had a very solid, I think three-hour meeting, covering quite an extensive agenda of Your Library topics. And just today I had my monthly catch-up with the Your Library CEO and chair, Councillor Kylie Spears.
And last Thursday I attended the Council drop-in session for the annual plan and budget, our community engagement exercise, and spent a few hours. I know the Mayor dropped in, and Councillor Pearce was there too, and our Chief Financial Officer, Navec Lorkin, was also there chatting with residents and getting their view of what they want to see Council do more of or less of, and to talk to us about any issues they had locally. So we had a range of issues: lots about trees, lots about rubbish, lots about all those council services that we know our community really value and want to see us continue to deliver in the great way that we do. So those conversations will certainly inform the development of our budget in the coming cycle.
So, I will leave it there and submit the rest in writing. Thank you, Mayor.