04 November 2021

On October 16 we held our local government elections with four Council vacancies to be filled. The nominees were Isabelle Scott, Barry Wyse, Elyce Tunbridge, Mark Leonard and Kellie Wilson.

Firstly, I would like to thank all the candidates who took the time to nominate, your willingness to step up to take on the often-thankless role of Councillor is admirable. Secondly I wish to acknowledge the 1139 registered voters who submitted a ballot and had their say.

Your local Council member plays a vital role. They make decisions on behalf of the community, are tasked with providing leadership and guidance to the community, facilitating communication between the community and the Council, determining and reviewing policy, planning for the future, asset management and financial governance.

Council members are required to attend all council meetings to ensure that electors are adequately represented, and need to be aware of issues at a local, national and state level to gain a broad prospective of issues affecting the region. It is a complex role and those that freely give up their time to fulfil it are to be commended.

Once such Councillor who has dedicated his time to our community for the past 12 years is Councillor Ian West.  Cr West has recently retired after 12 years of service to the Shire. I personally would like to thank him for his time and wish him all the best.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow councillors who have once again entrusted me with the position of Shire President and congratulate Cr Isabella Scott who has been named Deputy Shire President. It is an honour to be able to serve my community in this way and I will endeavour to work for the good of the Shire of Irwin throughout my tenure.

We are in the final stages of the Moreton Terrace upgrade project, with line marking and paving expected to be completed soon. This project was a huge undertaking, however because of issues with drainage, the need to protect our heritage listed Moreton Bay Figs and Council’s desire to give back to the local business community by enhancing the local infrastructure, it needed to be done. I applaud the Shire of Irwin CEO Shane Ivers and his team for all their hard work in seeing the project through to fruition. 

Recently I was invited to join MEPAU at their groundbreaking ceremony for the Waitsia Gas Project Stage 2.

The ceremony was attended by Premier Mark McGowan, the CEOs of MEPAU, Beach Energy and Clough and Southern Yamatji Traditional Owners who officially launched the construction project and turned the first soil at the site of the Plant.

Local businesses will no doubt benefit from Waitsia Stage 2, with 200 jobs to be created during the construction phase and an expected expenditure in the local area of around $15 million per year when operational.

CEO Shane Ivers and I also recently attended an Energy Club WA industry dinner as guests of Infinite Blue Energy.  The event celebrated 50 years of energy production in WA, in particular the Oil and Gas industry in the Perth Basin and the significant role played by our region.

Guest speakers on the night identified that while industry is aware of the need to transition from oil and gas, to green energy solutions such as green hydrogen, there is still the need for a secure supply of energy while this new industry is evolving.

It is exhilarating that the Shire of Irwin has played such a significant role in Australia’s past energy security and now in the Countries clean energy future, in the development of green hydrogen. Infinite Blue Energy are forging ahead with their Arrowsmith Hydrogen Plant stage 1 that will produce 25 tonnes (25,000kg) of green hydrogen per day using renewable energy from solar and wind. The Shire of Irwin is poised to benefit greatly from being at the forefront of this energy revolution,

Nominations for the 2022 Citizen of the Year Awards are now open. These awards are your chance to acknowledge and thank those individuals and groups who are committed to making our community a better place to live. 

The Shire of Irwin invites you to nominate an outstanding local hero or group for one of the Community Citizen of the Year Awards to be presented on Australia Day Wednesday 26 January 2022. The awards foster, recognise and celebrate significant contributions to community life and active citizenship. Recipients will be selected from people and groups who have made a noteworthy contribution in 2021, or who have given outstanding service to the local community over a number of years.

Nominations close on Friday 26 November and can be submitted online http://www.irwin.wa.gov.au/community.../australia-day-2022 or complete the copy in the Local Rag and deliver to the Shire Administration Building.

For any queries, please contact our Shire of Irwin Community Development Officer Farah on 99270000.