ALEXANDRA, VIC. — Murrindindi Shire Mayor, Councillor Damian Gallagher is concerned about what he calls an “awareness divide” between Melbourne and locals.
“At Benalla, for the Hume Local Government Network forum of 12 councils from Mitchell and Murrindindi up to Wodonga and Towong, Cr Gallagher discussed the financial sustainability challenges and raised concerns about a growing ‘awareness divide’ between Melbourne and rural communities,” Cr Gallagher said.
“I heard similar stories from across the region along with a unified concern for the impacts of the Emergency Services Volunteer Levy on rural communities.
“I thanked Strathbogie Shire Mayor Claire Ewart-Kennedy for her chairing of the forum this past year.
“That evening, I attended the Yea Saleyards complex to see the highly professional process of the yarding and weighing of cattle which progresses throughout the Thursday night that precedes a monthly store sale.
“In the face of some recent climatic challenges, the quality of local cattle at the market was top-shelf, supporting the claim of farmers and participating stock agents of Yea being the premier sale facility in Central Victoria,”
Murrindindi Mayor, Cr Gallagher, was also a guest on ABC Radio Melbourne Mornings’ council segment with Raf Epstein, and discussed “some of [the] council’s strategies for supporting the community with climate change mitigation and [the] council’s successful implementation of four kerbside bin collections,” Mayor Gallagher said.
