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Latrobe City Mayor proud of the community

A lesson on strength, unity and community cohesion is how Latrobe City Council mayor, Councillor Kellie O’Callaghan described last night’s national television portrayal of a community in transition.

By Portal Admin - 22nd February 2017 - Back to News

Cr O’Callaghan said SBS Insight gave the community an opportunity for a diverse range of voices to be heard, but acknowledged a lot of the good work being done in the community was not shown.

"I commend our community on the way in which they courageously engaged with host Jenny Brockie," Cr O’Callaghan said.

"Community members put their lived experience out there for the consumption of others – it’s an incredibly brave thing to do and many of us would struggle to be that honest and that completely vulnerable on national television.

"Despite diverse views there was one moment of unity – what people were most distressed about was the thought of leaving the Valley. With one exception, the audience was united in their desire to stay in the Valley. In fact some were willing to risk it all, just to stay."

"The experience of these residents is that this is a wonderful place to live, to raise a family, to chase a dream, to live a lifestyle where family is first above all else.

"This is a community that is bonded in a mutual appreciation of how special it is to live in the Valley, to live in a place where the community genuinely cares for one another.

Cr O’Callaghan said it would have been welcome for more of the community’s progress in this transition to be included in the show.

"We’ve had community meetings, the community and Council have prepared a transition document, community groups have held meetings with elected officials, and there have been delegations to Canberra, meetings in Melbourne, the securing of the High Tech Precinct with industry partner Fujitsu, and much, much more," Cr O’Callaghan said.

"This is a community lobbying hard for its survival and the opportunity to highlight and celebrate this community-led action was missing from the show.

"Of course, this is a community that now needs help and assistance to keep this enviable family-focused community together and we’re pleased that the state and federal governments have made ongoing commitments to stand with our community for the long term.

"Council continues to work with all levels of government to secure jobs for the Valley, and continues to highlight the importance of the community transition vision as detailed in Council’s Strength Led Transition.

"We’ve all watched SBS Insight programs before, we’ve all seen shows where participants verbally attack each other, yelling across the room, we all know how that goes. What we saw from our community last night was the complete opposite of that – we saw unity, respect and dignity – a proud moment for us all."

Media Enquiries:

Cr Kellie O’Callaghan, Latrobe City Mayor

Telephone: 0400 696 324

Cr Graeme Middlemiss, Latrobe City Deputy Mayor

Telephone: 0417 379 059

Media Relations Office

Telephone: 5128 5458

For general enquiries, contact Latrobe City Council on 1300 367 700.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: support@gippsland.com