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ELECTION CALLED
New nurses Rosalie Rothnie, Deborah Welsh and Mik kaela Kennedy are now ready for the next chapter of their lives, aft fter t gra aduating from Federation University, Gip ppsland. More than 200 students received their degrees at the Churchill cam mpus last week.
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GRADUATION DAY - PAGE 18
Photograph: Katrina Brandon
Out of his own pocket Mayor rejects claims of European holiday junket. Says he will offer invitation to Danish Royal Family to visit Latrobe.
By LIAM DURKIN
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2 LATROBE City Councillors may have inadvertently borrowed from the titular character of Shakespeare’s greatest work, when voting on whether or not to spend $9500 to send mayor Dale Harriman to the country where the famous play is set. Not that is matters now, for Cr Harriman has confirmed he is paying his own way. “I’m quite happy to pay for it myself and hopefully that puts the matter to rest,” he told the Express last Friday. Councillors were split 4-all at council’s monthly meeting on Monday, March 24, after an urgent business motion was put forward to allocate $9500 for the mayor to travel overseas and attend the Traralgon City Band’s Tour of Remembrance. Cr Harriman removed himself while
the motion was discussed, which ultimately saw deputy mayor Sharon Gibson use her casting vote to give the motion the go-ahead. Crs Gibson, Adele Pugsley, Joanne Campbell and David Barnes voted in favour. Crs Tracie Lund, Darren Howe, Leanne Potter and Steph Morgan voted against. However, the court of public opinion came down hard on the decision, calling it a junket with no tangible benefits to the Latrobe Valley. Speaking against the motion, Cr Howe questioned the purpose of sending the mayor on what he termed a “European vacation”. “This trip is said to promote good will and strength in community ties, which is great, but it offers no economic benefit to our city whatsoever,” he said. “This doesn’t align with our council plan, transition plan or to the expectation that our community has of us. It simply doesn’t pass the pub test - at least not any pub I’ve been to.” Latrobe City Council held an
unscheduled council meeting last Monday (March 31) to consider the personal offer from the mayor to pay for the trip. The meeting took place after the Express went to press. Nonetheless, Cr Harriman maintained the journey was worthwhile, especially given plans are in place to speak to coal county towns in northern England undergoing transition similar to what will likely be experienced in the Valley. “If we can get some ideas from the northern English or Welsh towns and council as to what worked over there, what didn’t, what’s been successful, what options there are to move forward, we know that the coal industry here, as much as I hate to say it, under the current political environment, is being demonised and a lot of our workers are suffering from that, I want to know what we can do to help move forward with them and find like-for-like jobs and have a future for our kids here,” he said. “We’ve had some interest in discussions with companies that are looking
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to invest in the area from Europe, or they’ve already invested in the area, they’ve wanted to meet up, we’ll negotiate that.” The Traralgon City Band has raised more than half-a-million dollars for the remembrance tour, which will coincide with the 110th anniversary of Gallipoli. The band had been in talks with Danish officials, who Cr Harriman said would include an invitation to the Royal Family on the proviso the Latrobe City Mayor was also in attendance. “The indications coming back from Denmark were that the band said if our mayor attends Denmark and the Royals attend, what are the chances of the Royal Family coming back (to Australia)? And there’s been a positive response that they will look at Queen Mary on her next visit to Australia providing a reciprocal visit, but that part of the tour is basically one-and-a-half days that they’ll be in Denmark, the majority of the two weeks will be spent on the Western Front,” Cr Harriman said. Continued - Page 5
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