Mayoral Matters | Cr Karen Hyslop, February 13, 2026

Published on 13 February 2026

On Monday this week, I was privileged to have an informal chat with Australian politician Barnaby Joyce. 

It was one of those spur of the moment times. As I parked in the Stawell Town Hall car park I saw a man talking on the phone nearby. I looked and thought to myself, ‘Is that Barnaby Joyce?’.  

I knew he had been in Horsham the night before so there was every chance it was him. 

I quickly locked my car and walked towards him. At that stage he was getting into the passenger side of a vehicle, while another man was about to jump into the driver's side. 

I approached and asked the man if it was, in fact, Barnaby Joyce and he smiled at me and nodded, ‘Yes’. 

Barnaby was sitting in the passenger seat when he saw me and realised I had recognised him. 

He was straight off his phone, got back out of the car, and greeted me warmly with a handshake and smile – me, a perfect stranger he did not know.  

I then put on my councillor badge, introduced myself and welcomed him to Stawell. 

You see people like Barnaby Joyce in the media all the time, and I often wonder what they are really like.  

Barnaby did not have to talk to me, but he was very approachable and we ended up chatting in front of our beautiful Stawell Town Hall for about 15 minutes. 

We talked about many things related to council.  

He took the time to chat with me and asked lots of questions. We talked about the opportunities, strengths and challenges that small rural councils like ours face, and he was genuinely interested in Northern Grampians Shire. 

Our impromptu chat left me with a very good impression, and I appreciate the time he took to talk to me. 

On another note, Northern Grampians Shire Council has the following grants available to support our community and to help make our shire grow and prosper - 

Community Grant: opens Feb 16 and closes March 31; Arts and Culture Grant: Opens February 16 and closes March 31; Creative Education Fund: Opens February 16 and closes March 31; Tourism Event Grant: Opens February 9 and closes March 9. 

You can visit council’s website, www.ngshire.vic.gov.au for more information, including detailed explanations of the grant streams, guidelines and how to apply.