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13 MAY, 2025
Book is an ace read Kolbe Catholic College teacher Laura Roso has transformed her passion for storytelling and student wellbeing into her first novel, Race Against Ace. Blending her experience as a drama teacher and performing arts specialist, Roso’s book dives into issues like bullying, risk-taking, and ethical decision-making. “I want to explore important themes like bullying and risk taking in a way that sparks conversation and encourages personal growth,” Roso said. “These are real issues that many children face today, and literature can be a powerful tool for helping them understand and navigate such challenges.” The inspiration for Race Against Ace came during one of the toughest periods of Roso’s life – her father’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease. “Race Against Ace will always hold a special place in my heart. It became an escape – fiction offered comfort during the heartbreak of watching my dear dad slowly lose his memory,“ she said. By including a school counsellor as a key figure in the story, Roso hopes to normalise help-seeking behaviour. Kolbe Catholic College teacher Laura Roso has published her first book. (Damjan Janevski) 474753_01
And then there were nine ... By Laura Michell A by-election will be held in Whittlesea’s Lalor Ward after the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) voided the election result. The October 2024 council election result in Lalor Ward was referred to VCAT by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) as part of an investigation into suspected vote tampering. The voting irregularities were also referred to police and the Local Government Inspectorate for investigation after the VEC detected a high number of multiple ballot papers appearing to be from the same voters. Labor candidate and former Whittlesea councillor Stevan Kozmevski was elected with 4953 first preference votes, ahead of
independent Ellen McNaught (4003 votes) and community independent Nicholas Hajichristou (3344). After preferences, Mr Kozmevski had 6170 votes to Ms McNaught’s 6131 – a difference of 39 votes. VCAT’s decision means Mr Kozmevski is no longer a councillor. This leaves Whittlesea with nine councillors, after Kirrip Ward councillor and former mayor Aidan McLindon was suspended for six months on April 16. In her May 8 decision, VCAT vice president, Judge Caitlin English, said there had been “attempted and actual interference” in the election, with ballot papers stolen from letter boxes in an area of streets west of Edgars Road. She said the actual number of stolen ballot papers was unknown, with at least 81 stolen. She said it was known that 57 fraudulent
votes were admitted to the count and 24 fraudulent votes excluded from the count. A further 24 genuine votes corresponding to the 24 excluded votes, were also left out of the count as they were deemed to be multiple returns. The VEC submitted that 24 fraudulent votes excluded from the count identified Mr Hajichristou as their first preference. The VEC submitted that: “The tribunal can infer that the 57 fraudulent votes that were included in the count, which the evidence shows form part of the same fraudulent scheme as the 24 excluded fraudulent votes, were also made in favour of Mr Hajichristou”. There was no suggestion Mr Hajichristou was responsible for, or involved in, the fraud, the VEC submitted. In voiding the election result, Judge English
said she was satisfied that a majority of voters might have been prevented from electing the candidate they preferred, “due to the systematic stealing of ballots and casting of fraudulent votes”. “Mr Kozmevski honestly conducted an election and secured a majority of legal votes in a properly conducted election. It was accepted by the VEC that its unknown what impact those 57 votes had on the actual result,” she said. “The principal issue with the fraud, however, is that a minimum of 57 genuine voters have been denied the opportunity to cast their vote on the basis of voter fraud that commenced with the theft of their ballot papers from their home address.” Continued: Page 19.
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