General News
28 June, 2024
Dozen in the mix
Twelve would-be councillors have put themselves through Horsham Rural City's Community Leadership Program, which concludes at the end of July.
The seven women and five men are among those considering to stand for one of seven wards in the October local government elections, each to be represented by a single councillor following the Victorian Electoral Commission review earlier this year.
Shortly after the ward boundaries shake-up was announced in February, council CEO Sunil Bhalla pledged to turn around the leadership vacuum that had haunted the council chamber for more than a decade, and which had been exposed in a damning report from Municipal Monitor Jude Holt, appointed in July 2022 to oversee council’s governance processes.
“It’s now up to us to deliver the improvements that have been highlighted,” Mr Bhalla said of the report, promising to invest in a community leadership program.
Designed specifically to attract prospective council candidates, the program was launched in May, running across eight out-of-hours sessions, roughly one every fortnight.
HRCC said it would accept no more than 25 participants “to achieve an effective outcome from the program”.
After considerable local publicity, 12 people put up their hands to take part.
"The participants are nearing the end of the workshop series and will gather for a final networking and completion event in late July," Mr Bhalla told The Horsham Times this week.
Attending the Community Leadership Program is not a compulsory requirement to stand for council.
The only mandatory training for is a one-hour course run by Local Government Victoria.
Nominees also can register their interest for a Stand for Council information session, hosted by the Municipal Association of Victoria, by calling 9667 5555, sending an email to inquiries@mav.asn.au, or by visiting www.mav.asn.au/stand-for-council-2024
Mr Bhalla said he encouraged people to attend "if you can see yourself being part of a positive future focused team".
"You do not need any specific qualifications or an understanding of local government to take part in these sessions," he said.
"All you need is a healthy community-minded attitude and a desire to find out more about nominating as a candidate."
Mr Bhalla said only one or two councils were selected to host a MAV Stand for Council session in each region of the state.
Horsham had been chosen in the past, but this year the Wimmera Southern Mallee sessions will be held in Ballarat (August 8) and Nhill (August 14).
Anyone can attend at any of the locations across the state.
The MAV website lists all remaining sessions, and includes a link to the mandatory candidate training run by Local Government Victoria.