8 JANUARY, 2025
YEAR IN REVIEW... STORIES OF THE YEAR Dom Brew, Nick Coughlan and Jimmy Allan with the cup. (Ljubica Vrankovic) 432956_88
2024 was year of change
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Wyndham experienced plenty of changes in 2024. There were new faces elected to Wyndham council – and a long-serving councillor voted out; changes to council-run aged care services; an uncertain future for the fire-damaged Kelly Park Hall; and by the year’s end, a retiring MP. Wyndham also became the home of soccer in the west as Western United played its first A-League home gate in Tarneit, and the Werribee Tigers experienced a change in fortunes, snaring their first VFL premiership since 2005. In April, Wyndham council’s decision not rebuild the Kelly Park Hall in Werribee, nearly two years after it was destroyed by fire, was met with fierce community backlash, including from sitting councillors.
The heritage-listed centre, which for decades served as one of Wyndham’s most popular community spaces, was destroyed by fire in June, 2022. The decision to demolish rather than rebuild Kelly Park and turn the site into green space was made at a council meeting in December, 2023, but was only made public in April, 2024. But in August, councillors voted to not demolish the building and investigate its future as a community centre. The reprieve was short-lived, with the building’s planned demolition back on the agenda at the December council meeting, during which councillors once again voted to knock down the centre. In May, a council decision to stop providing aged care services caused concern among
many of the municipality’s elderly residents who feared it would signal the end for many social groups and activities. Council-run programs were shut down by the end of year and replaced by private and community providers. The council’s decision was in response to the federal government’s reforms to the way aged care services are funded and delivered. Among those concerned was Tarneit’s Lorraine and Tony Chisholm who had attended weekly lunches at Penrose Community Centre for the past year and said they would miss the social interaction. In October, long-serving councillor Heather Marcus failed in her bid to be re-elected to council, bringing to an end her almost two-decade stint as a councillor.
Ms Marcus lost to fellow incumbent councillor Mia Shaw in Werribee Park Ward during that month’s council election. Incumbent councillors Josh Gilligan, Jasmine Hill, Jennie Barrera, Robert Szatkowski, Susan McIntyre and Peter Maynard were re-elected. They were joined on council by newcomers Larry Zhao, Preet Singh, Shannon McGuire and Maria King. And in December, Werribee MP and state Treasurer Tim Pallas announced that he would resign from parliament. After 18 years in parliament – serving as the member of Tarneit before becoming the member for Werribee when electoral boundaries were redrawn – and a decade as treasurer, he said it was time to hand over the reins.
Kenyon-Smith Denture Clinic A family tradition for 60 years 100 Pier Street, Altona 9315 9231 • 27 Old Geelong Road, Hoppers Crossing 9748 8204
Dental Prosthetists Full dentures, Partial dentures, Repairs - relines • Victorian Denture Scheme • Veterans’ Affairs John, Andrew, Simon and Paul Kenyon-Smith