Ballina is a town in which Australian state?

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HELPING WOMEN DOING IT TOUGH

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PropertyGuideGippslandTimes

Surplus of $14.51m

Josh Farrell

Be truly generous this Christmas

Uniting, Lions Clubs across Wellington Shire, St Vincent de Paul in Sale and Maffra as well as the Salvation Army have joined together to support families this Christmas, by providing food, toys and gifts generously donated by the community. Pictured, Bernadette Cullen, Bridie Dekunder and Raquel Mayman from Uniting getting ready for Christmas with Lenie Smolenaars and Vin Claxton from St Vincent’s De Paul. Full story, page 2. Photo: Contributed

WELLINGTON Shire Council finished the financial year with a budget surplus of $14.51 million — more than $5 million above what was estimated. This surplus was due in part to grants paid to council that will be transferred into this year’s budget and COVID lockdowns reducing expenditure. The municipality’s major capital works included Cameron Sporting Complex, Sale Tennis Club, the Maffra streetscape, Briagolong Recreation Reserve and Pony Club, the Aqua Energy outdoor pool, Sale Oval, Stratford Pavilion upgrade, Gippsland Regional Sports Complex upgrade, Stephenson Park upgrade and The Wedge upgrades. Council’s most notable public-facing achievement last financial year was the rollout of its ‘Middle of Everywhere’ campaign in 2020, which aims to demonstrate the diverse landscape of the region and the amenities available to residents and visitors. The information is contained in Wellington Shire’s annual report, tabled at last Tuesday’s council meeting. The report also touched on the important contribution of Councillor Malcolm Hole, who died in April. He had serving on council since 2000, with stints as mayor in 2002 and 2006. In his mayoral message, Cr Garry Stephens praised the work of Cr Hole (Cr Ian Bye has since been elected mayor). “Cr Hole had served his community of Heyfield and the Wellington Shire for 21 years and his sudden loss was deeply felt,” he said. In the report, council also noted its highlights for each month. These included a new online system for tender submissions, practical completion of the Cameron Stadium redevelopment project, the announcement of the Archibald Prize to be held in Gippsland, the launch of ‘Your Wellington Your Say’, Wellington’s first public fast electric vehicle charging station launch at the

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