Congratulations to Councillors Kevin Parker and John Walkom who were elected to the important committee chair positions on Monday night. Thanks also to Councillor Lyn Griffiths who had served with distinction in the Chair’s position for the previous 5 years but chose not to stand this year. The Planning & Development; Works and Services and Finance and Policy committees are standing committees of Council and serve an important purpose of allowing free and open debate on important issues to Council before feeding the resolutions through to the Council meeting in the week following the committee meetings. Chairs of these committees therefore need to encourage free and open debate whilst still maintaining a gentle but firm control of the meeting. I am sure we are in good hands for the next twelve months.
Last weekend saw Dubbo host the State Country Cricket Carnival. Dubbo is continually proving itself as a more than capable host of major events – sporting and otherwise – and when Cricket NSW needed a venue to host this carnival, they didn’t hesitate in contacting Dubbo. That is two major junior events hosted in Dubbo this year and we are programmed to have two more major events next year – one with Cricket NSW and one with Cricket Australia. When you combine our facilities with the motel accommodation and easy access in our city – in addition to easy access to our city via road and air, there is no wonder that various organisations look to Dubbo as a venue for an event or carnival. After four years in the job, I am still amazed at just how many different events are held in Dubbo every week of the year. We can’t afford to be complacent though – and many organisers quote our enthusiasm or excellent staff as reasons that they keep coming back.
In the art world, the Western Plains Cultural Centre keeps attracting visitors from far and wide to view the variety of exhibitions. Last Friday I had the pleasure of opening ArtExpress – a selection of artworks from the 2014 HSC. I encourage everyone to visit this exhibition – to look at the incredible talent and maturity from people in Year 12 is amazing. All 28 pieces scored a perfect fifty out of fifty in the HSC and you will see artworks from people in Dubbo and the region included.
Well done to the Dubbo Netball Association (DNA) who hosted their grand finals on the weekend. Over 1200 players participated in netball this season which is an incredible number of players for the volunteer committee members of DNA to manage.
Councillor Mathew Dickerson
Mayor of the City of Dubbo