Left to right, back row: Cr Darrell White, Cr Graeme Middlemiss, Cr Michael Rossiter, Cr Christine Sindt, Cr Dale Harriman (Deputy Mayor) Left to right, front row: Cr Kellie O’Callaghan, Cr Sharon Gibson (Mayor), Cr Peter Gibbons, Cr Sandy Kam

Latrobe City Mayor, Councillor Sharon Gibson says that the responsibilities as a Mayor and Councillor are enormous but first and foremost is to always to put the community’s best interests at heart.

I always try to think about what is the best for the community not just now but for the future too. The community’s wellbeing is vital. I’m conscious that decisions we make as a Council have an impact on our residents in many ways and we must always do the right thing by the residents and ratepayers. That means we have to consider each decision in terms of the community’s health and happiness, the provision of jobs, adequate amenities and the safety and security of our locals. We must work as a collective to provide our community with peace of mind and harmony.

To do the job properly you must put personal opinion aside and dedicate yourself to being there for the community. The honour of being elected calls for you to have many attributes not the least of which are the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon and the courage of David.

“Honesty, integrity, compassion and kindness are also important attributes. I think these are the values that help me and my fellow councillors when we go about our business. We are here to serve the community and we know that there can be times when we try our hardest and people are still not be satisfied. We accept that and we just keep trying regardless,” Cr Gibson said.

Our municipality has an interesting history, first as a series of separate town councils and then after amalgamation as a shire before becoming Latrobe City in 2000.

We are one of the most economically diverse municipalities in Victoria and we pride ourselves on being the hub of Victoria’s electricity industry. We host a large forestry industry which services Australian Paper’s pulp and paper mill (the largest in Australia). Other industries include food processing, engineering, post-secondary education with the new Federation University Australia and the service sector and a regional hospital and suite of health services.

We are perfectly located in central Gippsland with tourism options just over an hour from all compass points: city, snow, lakes and beaches. We have many great accommodation options to host visitors and we pride ourselves on our great sports and leisure facilities. We have a strong reputation as a key regional venue for local, national and international events.

“Latrobe City offers diverse lifestyle options for families and individuals of all ages. It’s a great place to live, work and play,” Cr Gibson concluded.