Erwin becomes mayor for fifth time
Kevin Erwin has returned to lead Northern Grampians Shire Council for the fifth time after winning the mayor’s job at a statutory meeting on Monday night.
Councillors elected Cr Erwin, who was previously mayor in 2005-06, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2013-14, replacing Cr Tony Driscoll, who was mayor for the past two years.
The Central Ward councillor said he was ‘extremely’ honoured to be mayor for a fifth time. “Well, here we are again,” he joked.
“I am very fortunate to have such a great council to work with. We have a great team here and I look forward to working with the other councillors to continue to represent our shire to the best of our ability.”
Cr Erwin pinpointed important projects in the shire that he would focus on as mayor, including Bulgana Green Power Hub and making sure any State Government pre-election promises, such as funding for projects in Halls Gap and Lord Nelson Park in St Arnaud, were kept if applicable.
“For the next 12 months my focus will be to continue the groundwork that has been done over the past two years,” he said.
Cr Erwin also made a commitment to continue to support the shire’s smaller towns, including Marnoo, Glenorchy and Navarre.
Cr Erwin first joined Northern Grampians Shire Council in March, 2003.
His election comes a month after winning Municipal Association Victoria recognition for his 15 years of service as a Victorian councillor.
Cr Erwin spoke highly of his predecessor Cr Tony Driscoll.
“I congratulate Tony on his two years as mayor. He has done a great job in that period,” he said.
Cr Driscoll, a councillor since 2012, reflected on what had been ‘an eventful and successful’ two terms as mayor.
He said there had been many important moments in his time as mayor, which started at the beginning of his first term with the closure of Stawell Gold Mine.
“It was pretty confronting actually, having just been appointed mayor, virtually a week after that we got a phone call to say the mine was going to close that morning,” he said.
“We immediately had to go into a positive mode, despite how terrible the situation was, to be of support to our employees and community.”
Circumstances have come full circle, with the mine reopening for production as Cr Driscoll’s time as mayor comes to an end.
Cr Driscoll said the world-first Bulgana Green Power Hub was also gaining momentum, with the wind-farm part of the project under construction.