CEO Chatter For September 2022
Welcome to September, with a bit of luck we will receive some consistent rain and some warmer weather. It has been a very hit and miss start to the winter season so far for our farming community.
September will also see the elected body of Council move into ‘Caretaker’ mode in accordance with legislation (due to upcoming election cycles). Caretaker mode essentially limits the type of decisions that can be made by Council (no major decisions) however the Council operations continue to deliver for the community and monthly Council meetings still occur.
An exciting piece of news for our district is that for the second concurrent year Orroroo has made the Top 5 Ag towns in South Australia; as voted by the South Australian public. Orroroo was announced in the top 5 Ag Town of the Year list after proceeding from an original nomination of in excess of 50 South Australian rural townships. We think this second Top 5 finalist nomination is a great reflection of the community pride and warmth that is reflected upon visitors to our town.
In my short time since commencing at Council I have seen many occasions of tourists coming into the reception area simply and specifically to express how well presented and clean the town is. This is a great reflection of the community and the pride shown in the area including our local staff.
I was fortunate to have a guided tour of the Northern side of the District on Friday this week, I was extremely keen to get an understanding of the different land, vegetation and farming usages. I was very surprised by the constant changes in landscape and vegetation throughout the Northern and Eastern parts of the District. The contrast in vegetation and farming practices between sections of the District is really quite amazing to me. I hope to build my knowledge and would welcome any invitation to tour businesses including primary production within the District to increase my understanding of needs, please reach out if you are keen to show me around.
The interest and discussion around Childcare has been enormous and we have received great interest from members of the community to become members of the Working Party (WP). Our first meeting will occur in the next few weeks and includes members of the Orroroo Health Service, Orroroo Area School, Regional Development Australia Yorke Mid-North (RDAYMN), Department of Education, Remote and Isolated Children’s Exercise (RICE), Council staff including myself and most importantly community representation.
Council have completed an important survey with the assistance of RDAYMN and the total survey responses received so far has been well above our expectations. This information will assist the WP in understanding the overall need and potential options or a blend of options to fill the needs of the community regarding childcare. Childcare is a complex problem that has manifested over many years and may require a complex and creative solution to resolve. I am confident we have an informed and motivated WP that will come together and tackle this issue on behalf of the community.
Unlocking childcare solutions has the ability to create greater prosperity and health outcomes for the whole community not just those partaking in the service. It is likely to allow greater diversity in family income (especially for primary production families), assist with the lack of skilled staff across various industries and perhaps more importantly provide a break for the hard working stay at home parents.
If you have any solutions or suggestions for the Childcare WP to consider I would love to hear them and will eagerly pass them along.
In my theme of relevant quotes, this one below seems entirely appropriate.
“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose…to support the ultimate career.”
-C.S. Lewis