Councillor Matters | Cr Murray Emerson, January 23

Published on 23 January 2026

Hello again to everyone in Northern Grampians Shire. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and are now enjoying an exciting new year.  

Your shire council and its representatives are already underway, dealing with.your requests and ideas that we collated during the preparation of the Council Plan last year.  

In the next three years we will endeavour to deliver better roads, more housing, a safe and workable environment and make sure our shire is a place that people want to live in, work in and enjoy.  

For my fellow councillors, last year was a time for us to learn and listen – but now is the time to achieve some results.

Aside from being your representative to state and federal governments, we need to make sure we are primarily your local representatives.

While council is always very aware of our financial restraints we will do our best to acknowledge and act on your requests and desires.

The immediate challenges are health and wellbeing, jobs, housing and employment, along with aged care, child services and education.

Of course, there will be some very exciting events happening in the shire in 2026, including the Stawell Gift, Grampians Grape Escape and all the wonderful attractions our shire has to offer.

Wine, food and tourist attractions are all very important to our economy.

I would like to mention the importance of our community teams and clubs, and the volunteers who service these organisations.

No organisation can survive without its volunteers, so this is a call-out – not only to the existing volunteers, but to anyone who has a spare moment to give some of their time.

Volunteering is incredibly rewarding and our volunteers are the backbone of our community.

Good luck to all the sporting clubs that are now preparing for their 2026 seasons. We wish you well.

I hope everyone handled the extreme temperatures we have endured this month and kept safe and comfortable during those days.

We are lucky so far this year to avoid any disasters, but it’s far from over yet.

My thoughts go out to everyone who has been affected by some very serious disasters in other regions already this year.

A huge thank you to all our emergency services officers for the incredibly difficult work you do. You are much appreciated.

I am sure 2026 will deliver some challenging times for us but also some very exciting opportunities.

Personally, I enjoy the saying: “Never miss an opportunity.”

Thank you all for your support over the past 12 years as a councillor for Northern Grampians Shire. It is a privilege and a pleasure to continue to serve you.