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By Nasik Swami The use of inappropriate language by elected members of the Naracoorte-Lucindale Council will not be tolerated in the chambers. That’s the warning from mayor Patrick Ross, who says with the livestreaming of the meetings, counsellors must conduct themselves in a manner pleasing to those who are listening and are interested in local matters. Filthy language was aimed at the mayor at his first meeting of the council by elected counsellor Craig Maguire. Mr Ross said this episode won’t be repeated. “I was very early in my term, and I most probably erred in respect. “I hope and expect that an outburst that we may have heard early in the year will never happen again. And if it were, that member would be sanctioned and asked to leave the chamber purely because of their behaviour. “I don’t believe any other mayor I have spoken to since that time […]

By Nasik Swami Naracoorte-Lucindale mayor Patrick Ross has defended the council’s ambitious spending on livestreaming council meetings to the public. The council has spent $72,472 for the supply and installation of the live streaming and recording systems in the current council chambers. The previous council had included $40,000 in its budget to enable meetings to be livestreamed, but that never happened. Based on recommendations purely from the council’s IT team, the new council added $32,472, bringing the total spend to $72,472 on the purchase of the livestreaming equipment. In a public letter, former mayor Bill Pomery questioned the council’s spending of ratepayer funds on live streaming the meetings. He asked, “Does the livestreaming merit such a large amount of rate payer money when the meetings were open to the public and media coverage was excellent?” In response, Mr Ross said he wouldn’t be able to tell whether this was a […]

By Nasik Swami The Naracoorte-Lucindale Council will do what it can within all townships of the district to provide an environment where business can thrive. That’s the assurance from mayor Patrick Ross to all businesses in the district, which are still recovering from COVID-19 and now feeling the pinch of inflationary pressures. While many businesses in the district failed to remain open after the pandemic, Mr Ross says small businesses in town were “very risky”. “Small business is very risky, and there are many failures for many different reasons, which only a very close look at the business in detail may provide,” he said. Mr Ross said the council’s responsibility was to ensure it provided fit-for-purpose roads and paving as well as maintaining a commercial precinct where businesses could hopefully thrive. “Council also has representation on the Naracoorte Business Organisation (Association), where needs and wants can be discussed and debated […]