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By Nasik Swami: Is the community truly engaged in council matters? It is a tough question, but one might assume so. The Naracoorte Lucindale Council initiated its legislated review of the representation structure in October 2024. By November, it had given in-principle support to maintaining the existing setup of a mayor, 10 councillors, and no wards. To formalise this stance, consultants CL Rowe & Associates prepared a draft representation report, which the council endorsed for public consultation in January 2025. Residents were invited to provide feedback between February 10 and March 3, 2025. However, the response was underwhelming—only three submissions were received, all submitted online via the council’s Your Say platform. Just three submissions from a district of nearly 8,000 people. Is that what real engagement with council looks like? In his written report to council, acting CEO Paul McRostie said the public promotion of the review included the following: […]

By Chris Oldfield: A city of tents with more than 500 exhibitors attracted swarms of people to the region’s largest annual event, the South East Field Days on March 21 and 22. After this, its 45th year, the action packed event has now pumped more than $3m into the local community and various public services. South East Field Days committee chairman John Motteram said the weather was perfect and the committee received some great feedback from businesses.  “There were a lot of inquiries and a lot of happy exhibitors, which is what you want,” Mr Motteran said. “Once it rains, a lot of those inquiries will turn into sales. “So it was a highly successful event once again.”