Council has nine new councillors after the Victorian Electoral Commission declared the results of the Victorian local government elections at a ceremony in Bairnsdale on Monday 11 November.

Council elections are held every four years with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor elected by the council. Each councillor represents the whole shire.

CEO Fiona Weigall congratulated the candidates on their election to Council and thanked the unsuccessful candidates for standing for election.

“Our council is part of our community, and our people live and work in our communities across East Gippsland,” Ms Weigall said. “We can also see this in the geographic spread of our new councillors, who represent communities across our shire.”

The new council brings a mix of new and experienced councillors from across the shire. It includes three women and six men with a diverse range of interests and experience.

Our shire has a population of nearly 50,000 and covers more than 21,000 square kilometres or 10 per cent of the state, from west of Bairnsdale to the New South Wales border. Council delivers more than 100 services across the shire, including libraries, emergency management, roads, waste and recycling, arts and recreation, health and local laws.

“I look forward to working with the new council to deliver our Council Plan 2021-25, then develop our next Council Plan – our blueprint for the next four years – to achieve their vision for our community,” Ms Weigall said.

The new councillors are (in elected order):

• Sonia Buckley – Benambra (former Councillor)

• John White – Lindenow South (former Councillor)

• Bernie Farquhar – Bairnsdale (first time Councillor)

• Arthur Allen – Lakes Entrance (former Councillor)

• Ian Trevaskis – Wairewa (first time Councillor)

• Tom Crook – Eagle Point (former Councillor)

• Jodie Ashworth – Paynesville (first time Councillor)

• Barry Davis – Ensay (first time Councillor)

• Joanne Eastman – Bairnsdale (first time Councillor)

Council will hold a Statutory Meeting to elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor (if the councillors seek to appoint a Deputy Mayor) on Tuesday, 26 November from 6.00 pm. The meeting will be live streamed on our YouTube channel ‘EastGippyTV’.

The official results can be viewed at vec.vic.gov.au.

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