Your new Mayor

By Lachlan Ellis

A first-time Mayor was elected to the office at last week’s Statutory Meeting of Council, and she says the appointment is “an enormous privilege”.

Woodlands Ward Councillor Ally Munari was elected Mayor with four votes to three in the third round of voting at Council, defeating East Moorabool Ward Councillor Moira Berry.

The slightly complicated and lengthy election began with nominations, with outgoing Mayor Cr Rod Ward nominating Cr Munari, Cr David Edwards nominating Cr Paul Tatchell, Cr Tatchell nominating Cr Berry, and Cr Tonia Dudzik nominating herself.

In the first round of voting, Cr Berry received her own vote and Cr Tatchell’s, while Cr Munari received her own vote and Cr Ward’s. Cr Tatchell was voted for by Crs Edwards and Cr Tom Sullivan, leaving Cr Dudzik with just her own vote, and thus eliminating her from the candidacy.

In the second round, Cr Dudzik gave her vote to Cr Munari, leaving her with three votes, while the remaining four Councillors stuck with their original choices, leaving both Cr Berry and Cr Tatchell with two votes each.

To break the tie, a box with two paper slips in it – one blank and one with the word ‘defeated’ on it – was handed to Crs Berry and Tatchell, with Cr Tatchell drawing the ‘defeated’ slip, meaning he would not be a candidate in the third round.

In the end, Cr Munari won with a majority in the third round four votes to three, with Cr Edwards voting for her while Cr Sullivan voted for Cr Berry.

The new Mayor thanked Council for entrusting her with the role, and said she “truly believes this council is in good hands”.

“I’d firstly like to acknowledge my fellow Councillors for electing me as their Mayor. It’s been another positive year together, and I sincerely do look forward to working with you all in the next 12 months…I would also like to extend my gratitude to our Chief Executive Officer Derek Madden, and to all the Executive Officers for their support and hard work, and to all Council staff – thank you for continuing an amazing job throughout the Shire,” she said.

“I’d like to acknowledge Cr Ward and his amazing work throughout the past year as our Mayor. We’ve had a wonderful year with many projects finally coming to fruition. Rod, you have held yourself with poise and the utmost professionalism when representing this Council. I have very much enjoyed working side by side as your Deputy, and I thank you for all the support you’ve given me.”

As outgoing Mayor, Cr Ward thanked his family, fellow Councillors, Council officers, and the community for their support in what had been a “very busy 12 months”.

He also presented some of Council’s officers with gifts for their work and support during his term as Mayor.

In turn, Councillors expressed their thanks to both Cr Ward and Cr Munari as Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the past 12 months, for their work in service of Moorabool Shire.

Cr Munari will serve as Mayor for the next 12 months, while Council voted not to elect a Deputy Mayor during that time, as moved by Cr Tatchell, who said it was “advantageous to get all Councillors involved”, especially in the last year before a local government election.

Five Councillors voted in favour of not having a Deputy Mayor, with the exception of Crs Ward and Munari.

Cr Munari is the first female Mayor in 15 years, with the last being Di McAuliffe, who served two terms from 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.