COLLEEN FULLER OAM, MAYOR, GUNNEDAH SHIRE
It has certainly been a busy month in our shire and I’d like to start off by congratulating a number of our young people who have been accomplishing great things here and further afield.
Gunnedah High School student Lilah Dean was highlighted by Member for Parkes Jamie Chaffey in parliament for submitting a speech to the Raise Our Voice in Parliament campaign, outlining her thoughts for the future. The campaign is run by volunteers to mobilise young people to contribute to, and transform, policy and politics.
Another 12-year-old girl, Hallie Childs and her family, met with Jamie at the Power of Speech event in Canberra where she shared her story of growing up with hearing loss on Loud Shirt Day, which raises awareness and vital funds to support children who are deaf or have hearing loss.
Hallie has bilateral cochlear implants and has been receiving specialist hearing support since she was a baby, but she hasn’t let the challenges hold her back.
Sporting talent has taken many students to Sydney for NSW Primary Schools Sports Association’s State Athletics to compete in numerous track and field events. By all reports, there were some great achievements and I congratulate the athletes on the hard work they invested to get to this point, and those going on to nationals.
Mayor Colleen Fuller OAM.
I’m so proud of all our young people for what they are accomplishing.
I also travelled to Sydney last week with our general manager Eric Groth and director of corporate services Kelly Stidworthy for the Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government at NSW Parliament House.
I was honoured to receive the Excellence in Councillor Leadership Award and I congratulate Kelly who was highly commended in the Women of Distinction Award for her leadership, integrity and excellence.
I became a councillor in 2004 to be a voice for this shire, and I remain committed to this community. I thank everyone for their support and well wishes.
While we are on the topic of awards, I’d like to congratulate council compliance officer Lacie Johnstone on being named a finalist in the Apprentice/Trainee of the Year category of the Gunnedah and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Business Awards.
Lacie came to council in late 2025 as a trainee compliance officer and quickly progressed through her training to become a compliance officer this year.
I wish Lacie all the best in the awards on Friday, 6 November, along with all the other finalists who have been recognised.
Council now has a Mayoral Attendance Request on the council website to make it easier for organisations, groups, businesses and schools to submit requests for me to attend, or speak at their events. It means the submitter can put the information all in one place and it will go through to council so I can see what I’ve been invited to.
The form can be found under the ‘Contact Us’ button on the top right corner of council’s website. If you have any issues with the form, please call council on (02) 6740 2100.
To order photos from this page click here
