Faith Macale
Moorabool’s new mayor has vowed to make the shire’s voices heard in Spring Street over the next 12 months.
Returning councillor Paul Tatchell was elected as mayor during the council’s first official meeting on Monday, November 18, with Cr Rod Ward elected deputy mayor.
Cr Moira Berry was also nominated for mayor, but Cr Tatchell won with majority of the votes.
Cr Tatchell said he would champion Moorabool during his term as mayor.
“I think every council in rural Victoria has been undersolved for a very, very long time,” he said.
“The reality is our roads are horrendous, everything seems to be a little more city-centric than it should be, so I’ll be pushing really hard to get the local pollies – I know there are two votes to one with city pollies versus country pollies, but I’ll be certainly supporting them.
“We’re trying to get Moorabool back into Spring Street and making sure their voices are heard very, very loudly.”
Cr Tatchell said he would also focus on economic development, creating local jobs and protecting Moorabool’s agricultural industry.
He said it was important the shire’s agricultural industry continued to thrive because it was “probably one of the most wonderful places to do agriculture”.
This will be Cr Tatchell’s fifth stint as mayor, having first served in the role in 2013-14.
Cr Tatchell said it’s been a while since he had led the council – he was last mayor in 2018-19.
He said he was a little anxious to move forward, but he was ready to address problems and challenges with the rest of the councillors.
“I think all councils, both rural and peri-urban councils, are under a lot of stress at the moment,” he said.
“I’m a different type of mayor. I’m a little bit more direct, not quite as colourful, and maybe not as eloquent as some, but I certainly get to the point.”
Despite the challenges ahead, Cr Tatchell said they’ve got a great council even though it is unusual to have no wards.
“That gives us all the focus rather than when we were focused on our own areas, so it’s an exciting time, but also a difficult time,” he said.
“We try to work as a region as opposed to an individual.”
