Champions

Rockhampton Regional Council residents may soon be going back to the polls to elect a Mayor, following the resignation of mayor, Margaret Strelow last Monday and depending on whether the Queensland Government can change current laws and make them retrospective. Councillors have paid tribute to former mayor Margaret Strelow who resigned from the position late yesterday afternoon. Acting Mayor Neil Fisher said the announcement had come as a shock.

“There are a lot of people in the community and in Council who have been taken aback by her announcement and I want to say to them that we understand that feeling,” Acting Mayor Fisher said. “Margaret was a fierce advocate for the region, and I’d like to pay tribute to her tireless work and dedication during her stewardship of our community. “Margaret was many things to Councillors during her tenure as Mayor. She was a mentor to us when making tough decisions and a calm voice of reason during disasters when our region needed leadership. “There was a side to Margaret where you could see how deeply she cared not just about the region but the people in it. It was not something you’d see in the media, but she did.

“Her years of experience at the table puts us in good stead and Councillors are committed to continue working together as a strong team,” Acting Mayor Fisher said.

CEO Evan Pardon said Council business would continue as normal while the process for electing a new Mayor was worked through. “We welcome the clarity provided by Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe today as we move through the process to fill the Office of the Mayor. In the interim, we will continue with the day to day business and will provide more information when it’s available. This is obviously a new situation so it will take time to work through the next steps, but we will keep the community updated as we go along.” Local schools recognised as Sustainability Champions

the students and their teachers. I want to congratulate all the winners and I think we can all be inspired to apply some of these great initiatives in our own homes and gardens,” Cr Kirkland said.

Our local primary schools have stepped up to the sustainability challenge and are being awarded for their efforts at assemblies across the Rockhampton Region. Twelve schools have been named Sustainability Champions and presented awards as part of Rockhampton Regional Council’s Sustainability in Action Schools Calendar Competition. Water and Supporting a Better Environment Councillor Donna Kirkland, said the response this year was impressive and a tough one to judge. “The calibre of entries was phenomenal and such a credit to “The competition is all about showcasing how local schools are taking on global issues with practical and sustainable local actions, and there really is some inspirational work going on in our community. “Whether it is reducing energy consumption, planting and learning about natives, to encouraging wildlife and wildlife habitat, our schools have given us some great examples that we could all learn from when it comes to environmental sustainability. “The winning schools and their sustainability projects will feature in Council’s ‘Sustainability in Action’ 2021 Community Calendar, which will be released soon. The calendars are a great way to help share the sustainability message and inspire our community with