One Gippsland announces new leadership

One Gippsland has elected a new Chair and Deputy Chair to lead the alliance through 2022 ahead of the Federal and Victorian elections.

Cr Kellie O’Callaghan, Mayor of Latrobe City Council was elected as Chair, with Cr Ian Bye Mayor of Wellington Shire Council elected as Deputy Chair.

One Gippsland Chair Cr Kellie O’Callaghan said: “Gippsland is a vibrant region with strong aspirations to support a growing population as well as being a food and fibre, tourism and energy powerhouse,”

“One Gippsland aims to work with the state and federal governments to make sure our communities have the right level of connectivity so that we can continue to be one of the most liveable regions in Australia,” she said.

Cr O’Callaghan takes over from Cr Brett Tessari, immediate past Mayor of Bass Coast Shire who chaired One Gippsland over the course of a difficult past 24 months.

Cr O’Callaghan credited Cr Tessari for his leadership and stated: “Cr Tessari’s leadership and advocacy has enabled One Gippsland to be key voice for our region and I want to thank him for his tireless efforts.” 

Cr O’Callaghan and Cr Bye were also joined on the board by the newly elected Mayors from the following One Gippsland Local Government members:

·         Cr Michael Whelan, Mayor Bass Coast Shire Council;

·         Cr Michael Leaney, Mayor Baw Baw Shire Council;

·         Cr Mark Reeves, Mayor East Gippsland Shire Council; and

·         Cr Moyha Davies, Mayor South Gippsland Shire Council.

“As Chair, I will be working collaboratively with my One Gippsland colleagues to make the case to the Victorian and Australian governments that our region must have strategic investment so we can not only recover from COVID restrictions, fires, floods and changing industries - but so that we can continue to be strong contributors to the national economy,” she said.