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Tuesday, 19 November, 2024

Elections and re-elections of councillors

Legacy of Montrose wartime nurse endures

Remembrance Day honoured

See Real Estate liftout inside

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A Star News Group Publication

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Growling frog call captured A budding citizen scientist recently discovered the sound of the vulnerable Growling Grass Frog in a reserve in Yering. Eight-year-old Alice had attended an event during the Birrarung Riverfest and miraculously managed to record the call which was then confirmed and verified by the Melbourne Water team. This discovery is the first known recording of this species in Yering for 24 years making it even more extraordinary. The Growling Grass Frog, a large, grounddwelling tree frog known for its distinctive “growling” call, is most commonly found is Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs but has also been heard in nearby Coldstream. To read more, turn to page 14

Eight-year-old Alice captured the sound of a rare Growling Grass Frog at Spadoni’s Billabong Reserve in Yering. (Stewart Chambers: 443343)

Gender scale tips By Mikayla van Loon While the rest of the state remains stable in its gender representation within local government, despite the 50/50 target falling short, the results in Yarra Ranges have reverted to a one to eight female representation ratio. Having elected the highest percentage of female councillors in 2020, with an increase from just 11 per cent to 44 per cent, it has unfortunately returned to the original figure. With Fiona McAllister the only woman to hold

her seat at the table in Ryrie, she will yet again serve a four year term as the only woman. Not only was there a reduction in women elected for the shire, under-representation was also seen in the number of female candidates choosing to run, with just eight of the 24 being women. Running as a candidate for Streeton in 2020, Amy Muratore said, given the political climate, in her opinion, women just don’t feel safe to run, something that was a “disappointing trend”. Four years ago, however, the environment was different, with the pandemic in full force

and just one woman holding a position, the push for female representation was at the fore. “Out of the nine councillors, the only female was Fiona, and a lot of like minded women started popping their heads up and I actually had almost like a support network,” Ms Muratore said. “We were running different campaigns, and we were running in different wards, but with candidates like Roxanne Horn, Bec Brannigan and Jo Skelton, who ended up being successful, we were all young parents living in our communities, using council services, and decided we

would all run. “We all had the shared goal that we would like to see the gender balance on Yarra Ranges Council improve.” Despite not winning herself, Ms Muratore said to see four women elected last term her “goal for running for council was achieved”. Ms Muratore said in the lead up to the election, given the pandemic, women used their networks to campaign but this time around it was not as easy. Continued page 3

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