The new chief executive of Greater Shepparton City Council has taken part in her first council meeting of her tenure.
Fiona Le Gassick took over the role from the outgoing Peter Harriott in January, but she had to wait until Tuesday, February 27 for council’s first ordinary meeting of the year and then just a little longer for her official welcome by Mayor Shane Sali.
Perhaps aware that council meetings can tend to lean on the longer rather than shorter side, Cr Sali leapt straight into the meeting.
It was only a moment or two, though, before the mayor paused to publicly welcome Ms Le Gassick to the role.
“Before we get into our next item, I forgot to welcome our new CEO to her first meeting. So apologies,” Cr Sali said.
“Very good to have you on board.”
After the meeting, Cr Sali said Ms Le Gassick had “hit the ground running”.
“It’s a very busy role on a normal circumstance, let alone what she’s doing, which has undertaken a significant stakeholder engagement process, getting out to different community groups, community leaders, relevant stakeholders,” he said.
“It’s a busy time to start, January, because it leads into budget,” he said.
House prices rise — but slowly
The latest regional market update by CoreLogic, which analyses Australia’s “largest 50 non-capital city significant urban areas” has found there has been a 0.4 per cent quarterly increase in the median value of Shepparton-Mooroopna homes.
That puts the median value at $450,582 or a 0.7 per cent annual increase and 48.7 per cent over the past five years.
Median rents rose 0.8 per cent to $462 per week over the quarter for an 8.8 per cent annual change or 35.2 per cent over five years.
The report also found there were 721 dwellings sold in Shepparton-Mooroopna in the year to November 2023.
That’s down 26 per cent on the previous year and 25 per cent below the five-year average for the region.
Openings on business councils
Applications are now open for people who want to be part of the Small Business Ministerial Council or Multicultural Business Ministerial Council.
Victorian Minister for Small Business Natalie Suleyman has invited people with experience working in and with Victorian small businesses to apply for the Small Business Ministerial Council or Multicultural Business Ministerial Council.
Ms Suleyman said small businesses accounted for 97 per cent of the businesses in Victoria, and the councils play an important role in providing advice and feedback to the minister.
She said people interested in shaping government policy, engaging with businesses from across the state and contributing their expertise to drive better outcomes for small businesses could find out more by visiting business.vic.gov.au/ministerial-councils
Applications close at 11.59pm on March 14.