Mayor's Message – 2 September 2025
Published on 02 September 2025
Hi everyone,
I hope you’re all enjoying the early glimmers of spring.
I love this time of year, as the wattle and blossom bursts into bloom, and we start getting some sunny days. We’ve definitely had some wild weather recently, too. I hope you’ve all stayed safe and dry during the wet and windy days!
I’ve had some unexpected time off this month, caring for my big kid after she needed surgery on her arm after breaking it badly during a soccer match. Thank you to Deputy Mayor Heydon for holding the fort while I was on leave.
Still, I’ve been part of some lovely things this month and I’m excited to share some of them with you!
As part of our role, each year Councillors nominate to be the Council delegate on a number of committees – some hosted by Council and others representing Council as part of a wider group. This month, it was a pleasure to attend three committees that I’m proud to be a part of.
Goldfields Library Corporation Board
I’ve been our representative on the Goldfields Library Corporation Board since my election in 2020. You may have heard me say before (and doubtless you’ll hear me say again): I love libraries!
The Castlemaine Library is part of a Regional Library Corporation – that covers Mount Alexander Shire, Macedon Ranges Shire, Loddon Shire and City of Greater Bendigo.
Each Council has a Councillor and Council officer on the board and we meet regularly with the GLC’s CEO. It’s a joy to be part of the GLC Board and my absolute pleasure to currently be its Chair.
Stay tuned soon for the release of our new Library Plan!
Indigenous Roundtable
Part of the Mayoral role is to co-chair the Indigenous Roundtable with Uncle Rick Nelson (or Auntie Kerri Douglas, in his absence).
Council has been hosting the Indigenous Roundtable since 2014, as part of our Commitment to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait island Peoples of the shire.
It provides a forum for Traditional Owners, DJAARA, Nalderun, local First Nations community members, Council and other key local organisations to share ideas and resources that are relevant to the local First Nations community, and to collaborate on local initiatives and events.
Again, it’s an absolute honour to co-chair this incredible roundtable and to work with such a passionate group of people.
Bujortj Children and Youth Network
Since my initial election, I’ve also been the Councillor representative on the Bulortj Children and Youth Network, which brings together organisations that provide services to 8-24 years olds in our shire.
Bulortj is also the steering group for Council’s Middle Years Plan and our newly adopted Youth Plan[RA1] ! Again, I really love being a member of Bulortj and working with a fantastic bunch of people who just want to help make things better for the kids and young people in our shire.
For those of you wondering about the name, Bulortj is a Dja Dja Wurrung word for the Cherry Ballart, a symbol of cooperation and community.
Bujortj is used in age-old Dja Dja Wurrung ceremonies of cleansing and renewal to this day. Its use here draws on the knowledge that, like children in their communities, the Bulortj cannot flourish unless it is attached to another tree.
It’s a reminder of the importance of cooperation between people if all are to thrive.
Youth Advisory Group
While I’m not an official member, it was a pleasure to attend a meeting of Council’s Youth Advisory Group (or YAG) last week.
YAG is a group of local young people who meet every week to provide input on Council strategies and plans, help us better engage with young people, coordinate local events like the COscars Youth Film Competition and Youth Awards Festival, and assess Council’s Quick Response Youth Grants (among a number of other cool and helpful things).
I wanted to go along to a YAG meeting to celebrate the recent adoption of our inaugural Youth Plan with a great bunch of young people who helped us create it.
Thank you to the YAG crew for being so welcoming of me. I had a really fun time and enjoyed watching you in action!
As always, spending time with young people gives me a lot of hope for the future.
Listening post
I had a positive and productive listening post this month at The Heron coffee cart in Chewton.
At the time, we were asking residents for their ideas on futures uses for the Wesleyan Church, recently refurbished by Council.
I had some great conversations with locals about potential uses and there was a wide spread of ideas – all of which were good!
Community consultation closed at the end of August but you can find out more and stay updated here.
Thank you to everyone who came along for a chat – either about the church or about another matter. It’s always nice to connect with people face to face, and to get to meet and chat with people I’ve never met before.
BIG Project announcement
It was a pleasure to attend an exciting announcement in Maldon, this month. Council was thrilled to be granted $650,000 by Community Bank Maldon & District, as part of their BIG Project initiative.
Their generous funding, along with a $400,000 Council contribution, will deliver two modular homes for workers in Maldon, through the soon-to-be launched Mount Alexander Affordable Housing Trust.
It’s hard to explain how exciting this is. For the last five years, Council has been pursuing funding to progress and deliver a number of housing projects, to respond to the lack of affordable housing in our shire.
It has been an uphill battle, as our shire doesn’t quite “fit” the currently available state and federal funding programs – and construction prices continue to rise.
I’ve already heard a few negative comments along the lines of, “What are two houses going to do?” And I understand the frustration.
There are a lot of people in our shire and beyond struggling to find appropriate, secure, affordable accommodation. We need much more than two houses to solve this problem.
But, we have to start somewhere. Two houses is more than zero houses, and the more we can demonstrate what can be achieved through partnership and outside-the-box thinking, the more we’ll be able to attract future funding, grow the trust, and build affordable homes in our shire.
You can read more about this project, and the Mount Alexander Affordable Housing Trust here.
Wear It Purple Day
The last Friday of August each year is Wear it Purple Day, where we (you guessed it) are invited to wear purple to show support for LGBTIQA+ young people, to let them know they are seen, valued, respected and celebrated.
I donned my shiny, purple evening dress (if you’ve got one – why wouldn’t you wear it?) and attended our Council morning tea and then the lunchtime celebration at Castlemaine Secondary College.
It was a really special event, and a pleasure to spend time with rainbow young people and allies!
Happy beginning of spring, everyone!
That’s it from me (for now).
Mayor Rosie Annear
Mount Alexander Shire Council
Image: Castlemaine Secondary College and Mayor Rosie Annear celebrate Wear It Purple Day