On Monday night our Fit for the Future submission was formally ratified by Council and has been submitted. It is now a waiting game to allow IPART to analyse the 152 submissions and the State Government to make final decisions on their direction. I am still of the belief that our strong submission, combined with the support of the Deputy Premier, the Hon. Troy Grant MP, that we will remain as a standalone Council.
Monday night also saw our budget for the 2015/2016 financial year approved. I thank all the people who took the time to make a submission and engage with Council in this process. I enjoy when our community engages in a process such as this – it doesn’t mean I agree with every comment from our community but it is invigorating when people bring their opinions forward. Please continue on with this strong engagement.
With school holidays on at the moment there are a number of activities in our community. Last night saw the changeover dinner for the Rotary Club of Dubbo Macquarie; tonight sees the St. Brigid’s 150 year anniversary; tomorrow night we will witness a 10th birthday celebration for The Photo News; Friday night I have the pleasure of being a judge at the ‘Stars of Dubbo’ dance contest (having previously competed in this event I am hopefully in a good position to be a judge; Saturday will involve several activities with the Philippine Independence Day festivities and next week is NAIDOC week. My point is that Dubbo is a central point for so many activities and events – all of them good for Dubbo and many of them boosting our economy on an ongoing basis. We all know that our Zoo brings a huge number of tourists to Dubbo each and every year but it is easy to forget about how many people are brought to Dubbo from many small events throughout the year. These events might only have a small number of attendees in isolation but the combined numbers add up to a significant impact on our economy and visitation.
I will be in Brisbane this Monday speaking at the Asia Pacific Cities Summit where an international audience will hear me discuss my vision of where small cities fit in when everyone is thinking global landscape. The challenges of urbanisation require Councils to design for small and tall. Keep an eye on the Mayoral Facebook page for photos from the event.
Councillor Mathew Dickerson
Mayor of the City of Dubbo