Message from the Mayor

Nothing is gained by hatred and division, except for more hatred and division, I choose love and kindness, every time. 

The last Council Catch-Up for 2025 and I wanted it to be a joyous and celebratory column. That’s hard this week but we must concentrate on the good in our community and society.

To the victims and their families, our heartfelt  condolences and prayers on last weekend’s abhorrent events. Thank you to all of the first responders, in Bondi but also across the country and especially here in Griffith, what you do does not go unnoticed, your heroics are to be celebrated.

I want to thank my fellow Councillors for 2025, it has been a challenging year, but I believe we have made many decisions that will see Griffith continue to move forward. I know our Council is the envy of many, but I also know we can do better and more. To our sensational staff, thank you for all of the hard work you all put in daily, enjoy a well-earned break and let’s make 2026 even better. To our senior staff, more than ably led by General Manager, Scott Grant, thank you for your guidance and diligence during this year, I firmly believe we have some of the best staff in NSW and they turn up each and every day to better our community.

Merry Christmas to our entire community, I hope you are able to spend quality time with family and friends over the break. Recharge and be kind to yourself and one another, it’s easy to forget all that we have done this year, take some time and reflect.  I look forward to 2026 and the challenges it will bring, keep talking to Council about how we can make our City and region a better place to live.

“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” – Calvin Coolidge

As I mentioned last week, it was great to see so many people out celebrating Christmas over the weekend at the Yenda Rotary Carols by Candlelight in Yenda and also the Multicultural Council Carols held in Memorial Park. 

Last weekend the Rotary Hams Carnival and the Glow2680 Light Up Griffith event also took place in Memorial Park, all wonderful community-driven events.

This Sunday, 14 December the Griffith Carols by Candlelight will be held in the Community Gardens from 6.15pm. 

Please also remember there will be fireworks, sponsored by Griffith Real Estate, at 9.30pm, so please keep animals inside for a little while. It’s truly great to see the community spirit shine brightly at this time of the year.

As has been detailed in previous Council Catch Ups, there is so much more on over the Christmas period, please head over to the Visit Griffith Facebook page for more information. We had a sidewalk sale last weekend, late-night shopping last night, and Star Shopper will continue until 3 January. Please support our local businesses, they return so much to our community and they need our support now. Please shop locally for a chance to win your share in $1,000.

Lastly, congratulations to a local business doing great things on the international stage. Flavourtech opened their new global head office here in Griffith during the week. We’re truly privileged to have such a world-class business here in Griffith, they continue to win export awards across Australia and bring the focus of the world to our city.

Stay safe, stay well and above all else, be kind to each other and yourself, bye for now.

“For our own success to be real, it must contribute to the success of others.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

It continues to be extremely busy with many events as detailed in last weeks’ catch-up for Christmas. Tonight is the Glow2680 and Rotary Hams in Memorial Park at 5pm, tomorrow is the Hampers of Hope Food and Toy Run from the Visitors Centre carpark at 10am and Sunday is the Yenda Carols by Candlelight in Yenda Memorial Park from 5.30pm, please support these important family friendly events.

Last Friday we celebrated a great Griffith man in Noel Hicks, his wife Annie and their family at Pioneer Park. Noel has done so much for Griffith and the wider region but last Friday night we celebrated his artistic side. Approximately 20 years ago, Noel was commissioned by Ian Geddes at Cater & Blumer to produce a sandstone sculpture of women and water. The wonderful sculpture has been placed in a beautiful location at Pioneer Park. Combined with the free entry for locals from January 1, 2026, there is so much to see at Pioneer Park.

We have now had a reply from the Health Minister in regard to the proposed split of our Local Health District. It isn’t necessarily the answer our community was hoping for. The response will be discussed at next Tuesday’s Council Meeting. Be sure to tune in on Facebook at 7pm.

Lastly, it has been wonderful attending so many school, academy and youth presentation events lately. There are some sensational young people doing very well in our community. They are future leaders, successful business people and hard workers coming through our schools and support organisations. Thank you to the teachers, carers, mentors and staff mentoring our youth.

Stay safe, stay well and above all else be kind to each other and yourself, bye for now.

“Volunteering is at the very core of being a human. No one has made it through life without someone else’s help.” – Heather French Henry.

Christmas time is always a joyous time for most but there are also those with less to celebrate. I know Christmas lights will be going up soon, please keep an eye out for the wonderful displays that really get us into the Christmas spirit. Something else I tend to see more of at Christmas time is volunteering. Thank you to all that spend your valuable time to give back to your community.

On Tuesday we celebrated with Griffith Meals on Wheels, Hampers of Hope and Griffith Aged Support Service teams at their Christmas function. All of these services ensure access to vital services to not only our aged residents but often those less fortunate. Thank you to all of the volunteers of these organisations and to all others who sacrifice time for others.

This coming week, Councillors Ellis and O’Grady, along with myself and Scott Grant our General Manager (GM) will be in Sydney at the Local Government NSW conference. These are important events that allow for collaboration but also opportunities for advocacy on behalf of our communities. 

Only last week myself and the General Manager, along with many other Mayors and GMs met with the NSW Premier and NSW Ministers in regard to priorities for our towns and cities. We also continue to meet with the necessary groups in regard to our airport. There will be many changes coming soon to the airport, parking and potential upgrades among them, but we also continue to work with the airlines to ensure connectivity for our community.

Lastly, thank you to Triple M who continue to promote our Shop Local campaign and Glow 2680 Star Shopper initiative, please support our local businesses as they continue to support us.

“Great hospitals do two things. They look after patients, and they teach young doctors.” – David Ogilvy.

At this weeks’ Council meeting we accepted the survey results and moved to back the split from MLHD. I am still confident we took the right step, listening to the community, while there was very strong support for the split, it wasn’t as black and white as a lot of people were saying, there is still concern with the proposed path, but we have listened and will back the split. What I did find overwhelming was the sentiment that we need better for our hospital and our staff, Council will continue to work with MLHD to improve health outcomes and advocate to the State for that also.

Another matter quite topical at the moment is Council’s move to FOGO in July 2027. Quite a lot of social media commentary about why are we taking so long to implement the new bins, can people opt in or out, what will happen with the red lid bins and many more. The fact there are so many questions is part of the reason we are taking our time to get it right. We are taking learnings from other Councils, as well as applying for State government grants to help with education. We also need to consult with the community about whether we retain the 240L bin but empty it fortnightly or reduce to a 120L bins and empty it weekly. Council has a committee that is working through all of these and many more questions and options, we will have more information over coming months.

Lastly it’s great to see another DA for the Lake Wyangan area come before Council, works will start in the area very soon, please keep an eye out for information.

Stay safe, stay well and above all else be kind to each other and yourself, bye for now.

“It’s a community event. Community events create strong communities, and a strong community is a healthy community. A healthy community is a happy community.” – Sandy Smith

A few updates this slightly quieter week for Council. The health services survey launched by Council to ensure the community is heard closed last week and we are currently correlating and reviewing the data. I hope to be able to report the outcome to the next Council meeting. 

At last week’s Council meeting, Councillor Scott Groat was elected Deputy Mayor. I look forward to working with Scott over the coming 12 months on matters important to our community. I also want to thank Councillor Anne Napoli for her support over the last 3 years as Deputy Mayor. Anne is always a strong advocate for our community, and I appreciate all of her efforts over that period of time.

Congratulations to a couple of wonderful events in our community in the last month. October was Pink Up Griffith month, organised by Griffith Real Estate and supported by Hickson’s Hunt & Hunt lawyers, 3C Tech Shop & itravel Griffith as well as many other sponsors. Almost $20,000 was raised for the McGrath Foundation and a huge thank you to all who contributed over the month. 

Tonga Day was on Saturday, a showcase of a beautiful culture doing sensational things in our community. Thank you to the Riverina Tongan Community Association who organised the event in Memorial Park. The event will be held annually on the first weekend in November, please keep an eye out for it next year.

Lastly, good luck to Nehma K Vitols and her team for tomorrow night’s Vintage 2025, a fashion and storytelling project. This exhibition features many of Griffith’s wineries and well-known wine makers, please get along if you can, it should be a great event.