Mayoral Matters - April 2025

Published on 23 April 2025

The activity in the region over the past few weeks has highlighted the opportunities that exist to increase our economy through tourism and events.

The 13th Annual DiRT Music Festival at Rupanyup was a great success and the music talent was outstanding. Steampunk at Dimboola, reportedly attracted around 3000 attendees, highlighting the opportunity to showcase the region and the benefits of major events.

The Easter period also saw significant visitation to our region and businesses making the most of these opportunities. These events require significant work, and this is mostly undertaken by volunteers. I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of each of these organisations and thank them for their ongoing commitment.

This Friday we also recognise ANZAC day. ANZAC Day is a national day of remembrance that commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". This remains an important day for all Australians and once again I acknowledge the work of the Returned and Service League committees across our municipality.

The Hopetoun and District Historical Society have completed the restoration of a 1890s map of the Shire of Karkarooc. The map is a great snapshot into our history and was painstakingly restored with great patience. The launch of the restored map on Sunday 13 April 2025 at the Old Limestone School in Hopetoun was a great celebration.

I have continued to be involved in advocating for Wimmera Southern Mallee By5 funding post 30 June 2025. I recently attended an online event where more than 230 people came together to reinforce the message.

The Wimmera Region Group of Council Mayors and CEOs came together in Dimboola to meet with the Secretary of the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, Jeroen Weimar. The visit to the region from the Secretary enabled us to highlight the opportunities and challenges that exist across our region including interest in renewable energy and mining, the impacts on housing and the impact on our existing transport inf restructure. It also highlighted the importance of working together as a regional group of Councils and the influence that a coordinated voice can have.

- Mayor Cr Kylie Zanker