From the Mayor - 28 February 2019

I had an extremely social time last week enjoying the many fantastic events for Seniors Festival 2019. It was my great pleasure to open celebrations at the annual high tea and also to enjoy the annual cocktail party at the Art Gallery. Our seniors are such vital and important contributors to our community. As an example I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Gill Stemp in particular, who has been volunteering in the Mosman community every week for the past 35 years.

At the other end of the spectrum, it was also my pleasure to open St Luke’s Music Association’s inaugural Youth Concert, where 22 amazingly talented soloists aged from 8 to 15 years entertained and delighted the crowd in the Gallery’s Grand Hall. This was able to go ahead with the assistance of a Mosman Council Community Grant, and I am confident it will become a fixture in their artistic calendar.

Council’s celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March is extremely honoured to welcome Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO to speak about her remarkable achievements and significant life journey. The theme for 2019 is #BalanceforBetter – a call to accelerate gender equality and promote gender balance as essential for communities and economies to thrive. Not surprisingly, high demand for tickets means this event is booked out.

I am pleased to report that our E-Waste drop off last Sunday proved very popular. This bi-annual service enables up to 90% of the materials to be recycled into new products. The next drop off will be in August 2019.

Finally and on the subject of our environment, please consider joining me and other residents this weekend for Clean Up Australia Day 2019. Clean Up Australia inspires thousands of Australians to take to their local park, beach, bushland and streets to clean up our beautiful local environment. A number of community clean ups have been organised around Mosman on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 March, including Council’s clean up at Spit West Reserve. I hope to see you there.