{"id":103806,"date":"2025-11-12T09:46:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T22:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/?p=103806"},"modified":"2025-11-12T09:57:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T22:57:39","slug":"sharkey-elected-mayor-robbins-deputy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/sharkey-elected-mayor-robbins-deputy\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharkey elected mayor, Robbins deputy"},"content":{"rendered":"

COUNCILLOR Owen\u202fSharkey has been elected as mayor of Golden\u202fPlains\u202fShire<\/a> and Cr Emma\u202fRobbins as deputy, with both to serve a one\u2011year term.<\/p>\n

The decision was made at Tuesday night\u2019s council meeting which was held at the Golden\u202fPlains Civic Centre<\/a> in Bannockburn.<\/p>\n

Cr\u202fSharkey was voted as mayor with the support of Crs Robbins, Des\u202fPhelan, Sarah\u202fHayden and Dom\u202fCook.<\/p>\n

Cr\u202fSharkey said his top priorities will include financial responsibility, public transport, advocacy<\/a> in the upcoming election year, and supporting businesses in the Shire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI commit to a council willing to make tough decisions, decisions that may not always be popular, but which are necessary to ensure that any rate cut variation is postponed for as long as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe owe it to our residents to plan prudently, act decisively, and maintain the financial health of our Shire. Community consultation will continue to play a critical role in how we shape our direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cr\u202fHelena\u202fKirby was also nominated for the position and was supported by Cr\u202fGavin\u202fGamble.<\/p>\n

Cr\u202fRobbins said her focus as deputy mayor will be providing support to fellow councillors and showing how having the position can benefit residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take this role extremely seriously,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the next year I\u2019d like the opportunity to bring that same commitment to the role of deputy mayor. I see the deputy mayor\u2019s role as a role to service, to the mayor, to my fellow councillors, and to the communities we represent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crs Robbins, Cook, Hayden, Phelan and Sharkey voted for Cr\u202fRobbins to be deputy mayor.<\/p>\n

Cr\u202fHayden moved the motion to have a deputy mayor and said it was important to have someone to share the workload and step up in an emergency.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am supporting the creation of a deputy mayor because I believe it will strengthen governance continuity and community representation<\/a> without adding complexity to our structure,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a practical resilience measure\u2026 it\u2019s sensible risk management.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cr\u202fGamble was the only councillor to vote against having a deputy mayor and said it was financially irresponsible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past I\u2019ve supported the position, but I\u2019ve got to weigh up what\u2019s best for ratepayers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the struggle we are now in, like many rural shires to be financially sustainable, it\u2019s just not the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cr\u202fKirby also stood for deputy mayor and said if elected, she would undertake the role without an increase in pay. She was supported by Cr\u202fGamble.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COUNCILLOR Owen\u202fSharkey has been elected as mayor of Golden\u202fPlains\u202fShire and Cr Emma\u202fRobbins as deputy, with both to serve a one\u2011year term. The decision was made at Tuesday night\u2019s council meeting which was held at the Golden\u202fPlains Civic Centre in Bannockburn. Cr\u202fSharkey was voted as mayor with the support of Crs Robbins, Des\u202fPhelan, Sarah\u202fHayden and Dom\u202fCook. […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":103808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-103806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSharkey elected mayor, Robbins deputy - Golden Plains Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Councillor Owen\u202fSharkey has been elected mayor of Golden\u202fPlains Shire, with Emma\u202fRobbins as deputy, both serving a one\u2011year term.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/sharkey-elected-mayor-robbins-deputy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sharkey elected mayor, Robbins deputy - 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