Ceremony selection gripe
We wish to express our deep disappointment regarding the recent announcement that Seymour will host the 2026 Mitchell Shire Australia Day Community Awards and Citizenship Ceremony.
While we respect the decision for the 2025 Citizenship Ceremony and the celebration planned for Seymour, this decision has caused significant frustration and hurt among many residents in the south of our shire. Wallan and Beveridge are among the fastest-growing areas in Mitchell Shire, yet we feel overlooked and undervalued when it comes to hosting significant community events such as Australia Day.
The article in the North Central Review on August 26, 2025, titled ‘Australia Day for Seymour’ unintentionally reinforces this sentiment, leaving many of us feeling like second-class citizens. Our southern communities contribute substantially to the shire, yet the benefits, such as hosting major cultural and civic events, rarely flow back our way. Council seems comfortable drawing on the south for revenue yet moves our citizenship ceremonies north rather than recognising the vibrant and growing communities in the south.
While the formal ceremony is important, Australia Day is not just about formal ceremonies; it is about bringing people together in a spirit of unity and celebration. For many years, Wallan Neighbourhood House and other NFP organisations have worked tirelessly, without any funding support, to provide this experience for our community.
At the Wallan Neighbourhood House with the help of our small staff, committee of management, and dedicated volunteers, we have hosted afternoon teas, BBQs, and entertainment such as the Tangent Singers. These efforts come from our genuine community spirit and desire to make sure our residents feel included and connected.
The overwhelming community sentiment is clear: the south deserves better support for its residents especially considering the population difference. We urge Mitchell Shire Council to ensure that Wallan, Beveridge, and other southern communities are not excluded from official Australia Day celebrations in the future.
Inclusion matters, not only for fairness but for the sense of belonging and pride that all residents should share. We want to ensure that Australia Day reflects and honours everyone within our shire, celebrating the spirit, diversity, and strength of all its peoples. Our communities deserve nothing less.
Wallan Neighbourhood House Committee of Management
Editorial note: Wallan hosted the Mitchell Shire Australia Day Community Awards and Citizenship Ceremony in 2024. Seymour hosted the event in 2023.
Respecting uncertain views over quarry
Your recent article sought to outline the history of the proposed North Central Quarry. What it did not reflect, however, is the depth of community concern and the absence of any genuine consultation about whether this quarry should exist at all.
The original Future Urban Structure plan exhibited in 2019 for the Beveridge North West Precinct Structure Plan did not include a quarry. When a revised plan was released in 2021, the quarry had been added. From that point forward, the community was never asked the most fundamental question – should there be a quarry here? Instead, the debate was reduced to where within the plan it might sit. That is not meaningful consultation.
Community feedback has been consistent and clear. More than 1,060 submissions were lodged during consultation, most opposing the quarry. A petition with more than 1,360 signatures was tabled in Parliament. Hundreds of postcards, thousands of emails to MPs, regular stalls at the Wallan Market, and even a march on Parliament all demonstrate the scale of community opposition to the proposed quarry.
This is not a small, noisy minority. It reflects a broad cross-section of families and residents who want their community to be planned around homes, schools and infrastructure – not heavy industry and quarry truck traffic for the next 30 years.
To describe consultation as “thorough and open” overlooks the lived experience of people in Beveridge and Wallan, who have carried uncertainty about this proposal for many years. Their views deserve to be acknowledged and respected.
Cr John Dougall
Mitchell Shire Mayor
