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Thinking caps on No computer games here. St Kieran’s Primary School, Moe students Elliott and Sienna engage in a tense game of Bridge. The sport has been included in many local schools, and seen positive benefits to learning. STORY - PAGE 12
LEST WE FORGET REMEMBRANCE DAY - PG 3
TRARALGON PRO-AM VALLEY SPORT
NEW COUNCIL SWORN IN Four votes decides Yallourn Ward By LIAM DURKIN
THE people have spoken. Latrobe City Council will be a mix of old and new for the next council term. The new council was officially sworn in on Monday. Four incumbents retained their position, while five fresh faces join the new nine single-ward structure. The number four carries particular gravitas, as incredibly, that was the number of votes that determined the fates of long-time councillor Graeme Middlemiss, and challenger Steph Morgan in the Yallourn Ward. Councillor-elect Morgan won with 2027 first preference votes, ahead of Mr Middlemiss on 2023 - making for a percentage difference of just 0.1, enough to get Ms Morgan over the 50 per cent margin required. The Victorian Electoral Commission recounted Yallourn Ward votes last Thursday. For Mr Middlemiss, who has served on every council since 1997, his local political career came to an end
in the most brutal fashion imaginable. He had been on council longer than roughly 40 per cent of the local population have even been alive. The result may point to an appetite for change, as the battle between the youthful Ms Morgan and an ageing Mr Middlemiss was largely seen as a decision between past and present. That said, in a count decided by literally four votes, there is little doubt luck played a part. As Mr Middlemiss departs, so too does nearly 30 years’ experience. His council colleague Sharon Gibson, who was elected unopposed and is now suddenly the most experienced councillor, wished to pay tribute to Mr Middlemiss, saying he was the voice of reason in the chamber. “His wisdom and knowledge I will dearly miss,” she said. Another long-serving councillor has also been forced to fall on their sword, with former mayor Kellie O’Callaghan losing the Boola Boola Ward to David Barnes.
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Ms O’Callaghan served four consecutive terms since winning election in 2008, but won just 41.79 per cent of the two-horse race this time around. Ever gracious, Ms O’Callaghan sent her best wishes to the incoming council. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve our local community and to have had the chance to share in your experiences, celebrations and shared challenges,” she posted. “Thank you to those who have offered support and encouragement. “I wish the incoming council well and thank the council officers for their professionalism, commitment to our community and preparedness to be determined to provide trusted guidance and support.” Ms O’Callaghan appears to have adopted a ‘life goes on’ approach in the wake of her loss. In the four days since the result was obvious, she made three community campaign posts not related to council on her LinkedIn. Given her heavy involvement in a number of local initiatives, and
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appearance on seemingly every board and committee in Latrobe, it is likely Ms O’Callaghan will still be a prominent figure in the region - just minus the councillor tag. Ms O’Callaghan and Mr Middlemiss join Brad Law and Dan Clancey as nonreturning councillors, after the latter two ruled themselves out of the race. Returning to council will be Ms Gibson in the Newborough Ward, along with Darren Howe (Tyers Ward), Tracie Lund (Morwell River) and Dale Harriman (Loy Yang). Three of the four have all previously served as mayor. Mr Harriman has served on council since 2008, coming on at the same time as Ms O’Callaghan. Ironically, current mayor Mr Howe faced a nervous count against challenger David Little, edging ahead by just over six per cent Continued - Page 2
Brutal game: Graeme Middlemiss, who has served on Latrobe City Council for close to 30 years, lost his seat by just four votes. File photograph