Mayoral Column - 25 January 2023

Published on 25 January 2023

I would like to wish everyone in the Cessnock Local Government Area a very happy New Year. As we move into 2023, I am looking forward to continuing to represent our community as Mayor.

On January 26, Cessnock City Council will celebrate by hosting its Australia Day Awards ceremony to recognise those in our community who make a difference. At this event, the Cessnock Citizen of the Year, along with Senior Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year – and other award categories – will be announced. We will also conduct our Citizenship Ceremony to officially welcome our newest citizens to our community. The ceremony will be held at Performance Arts Culture Cessnock (PACC) from 10am. I am encouraging everyone to come along to help acknowledge the tremendous efforts of these individuals and community groups.

Also, on Australia Day, there will be free entry into Cessnock and Branxton Pools, between 9am and 5pm, and Kurri Kurri Aquatic Centre, between 10.00am and 3pm. Between 11am and 2pm there will be a free barbecue at all three pools. At Kurri Kurri there will be a giant inflatable in the 25m pool, as well as games and music at all pools.

I would like to thank the community groups who have volunteered to cook the barbecue - Cessnock Lions, at Cessnock Pool, and the Branxton Greta Amateur Swimming Club, at Branxton Pool. It is shaping up to be a great fun family day and I encourage everyone to come along and enjoy our pools as well as the new splashpad as Cessnock.

I also wanted to take a moment to highlight the upcoming Seniors Festival, which will be held from February 1 to 12. The festival is one of the biggest events on the Cessnock civic calendar. This year's festival will feature a wide range of arts, music, heritage, ongoing learning, health, and wellbeing activities with the theme "Celebrate Together."  Cessnock City Council has worked with the Seniors Festival Planning Group, as well as many other community organisations and businesses, to put on this fabulous event. I would like to thank them all for their hard work. You can find out more about the festival and download the program of events on the Council’s website: www.cessnock.nsw.gov.au/seniors2023.

We had some very exciting announcements for the development of our Local Government Area this month. Deputy Premier Paul Toole visited Cessnock Airport on Tuesday 17 January to announce $193,458 of funding to the Hunter Valley Air Show through the Regional Events Acceleration Fund. This money is going to be used to create extra parking, run a free shuttle bus and improve accessibility for the event. These events are very important for the local economy. The 2023 Hunter Valley Air Show is going to be a big one and I can’t wait to see how this extra funding supports the event.

The Deputy Premier also brought news to Branxton in the form of $626,377 in funding from the Resources for Regions Round 9 program. This grant will be used to upgrade the attractiveness and accessibility of the town centre. These announcements are thrilling for the community because they support local business and the tourist economy.

I am looking forward to the year ahead and continuing to work hard to deliver good outcomes and exciting projects for the people of the Cessnock Local Government Area.  Here's to a happy, healthy, and prosperous year ahead.