Council says no to McMillan change
Moves to rename the federal seat of McMillan have not been supported by Baw Baw Shire Council.
South Gippsland Shire mayor Bob Newton requested council support renaming the seat at the next Australian Electoral Commission electoral boundary review.
But, council decided without “due community consultation and engagement” it could not take a position on the matter.
The move was criticised by Cr Mikaela Power who said it was the electoral commission’s role to undertake the community consultation.
She said all Cr Newton wanted was for council to write to the AEC and ask that a review be undertaken.
She said the AEC needed people to write to them to initiate a review.
“I think we are letting ourselves and Gippsland down by not letting people talk about this,” she said.
South Gippsland Shire resolved in April to seek a change of name to the seat of McMillan when the Australian Electoral Commission next reviewed the electoral boundaries of the seat.
In a report to council, officers said the rationale behind the name change from South Gippsland Shire’s perspective was the name McMillan was not suitable due to the controversial history of its namesake Angus McMillan.
“It is South Gippsland Shire Council’s view that a new name is a practical step towards reconciliation with the traditional owners of the land.
“Whilst there appears to be community feel
The first time Jack Moore attended a Victorian State Schools Spectacular, it was to watch his mother’s sixth graders perform.
So impressed was he with the showcase of performing arts that he approached the organisers to see if he could become involved.
Last year he was offered a position in the technical crew, and spent every second Saturday in Collingwood learning the technical skills he needed to become a camera operator.
The weeks of rehearsals culminated in two performances of the spectacular at Hisense Arena last September.
This year, the year 10 Drouin Secondary College student is back in the technical crew, this time operating audio equipment.
Jack, who hopes to work in the performing arts when he leaves school, says the experience has been invaluable.
Again he’s spending every second week training in Collingwood.
The year will culminate in a full week of training and rehearsals before two performances on September 10.
Jack has also done some stage management work for productions at his previous school and for a brass band performance during last year’s Anzac centenary. that the name McMillan is no longer suitable and rails to acknowledge the role McMillan is reported to have had upon indigenous communities, council have not undertaken any engagement with the community on the matter.
“A decision to formally support the name change would be prudent given the controversial and sensitive nature of the topic,” officers said.
Officers said council’s decision to advocate for a name change would require community input and engagement.
Moving the recommendation that council not support South Gippsland’s shire’s move, Cr Tricia Jones said she understood there were people in the community that wanted to change the name of McMillan because of Angus McMillan’s behaviour.
“But that does not mean the majority of people are on the same wavelength.
“I agree that we should have consultation with our community. It might be just buying some time to first find out what our people think,” she said.
Cr David Balfour said he thought the AEC should come forward with some alternative names before any decisions were made so the whole community could decide.
Cr Gerard Murphy spoke against the motion, saying council had to get on with letting the discussion occur.
“All this would be doing is going to the electoral commission and asking them to consider what’s out there.
“All this is saying is let the electoral commission look at it,” he said. Anthony, Sabina, Kylie and Staff wish to congratulate Anne Hescock on her admission at the Supreme Court of Victoria to practise as a Barrister and Solicitor. Anne was educated at Thorpdale Primary School and Chairo Christian School in Drouin. Toward the end of her secondary education Anne developed a keen interest in family law and social justice and so she worked steadily toward achieving her goal of becoming a lawyer. Anne studied at Monash University Clayton and on completion received a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree. During that time she gained experience working in several law offices. Anne is now available to assist clients in various areas of law, but particularly family law, including divorce, children’s matters, property matters, intervention orders, Victims of Crime Compensation and criminal law. Our team of lawyers consisting of Anthony Vogrig (Accredited Property and Business Law Specialist), Sabina Wakefield, Kylie Boote, Sarah Warry, Andrew Patterson and Anne Hescock and our Legal Executives, Anthony Gauci (Victorian Legal Executive of the Year 2014), Liza Pharaoh, Elaine Leo and Melinda Wells, are available for appointments at both the Warragul and the Drouin office.