AS all eyes are on the nine new candidates vying to be the representative for the seat of Ripon in tomorrow's State Election, the Ararat Rural City Council has paused to reflect on the contribution of retiring member Joe Helper.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At the 1999 Victorian Election Mr Helper, the Labor candidate, was elected to the seat of Ripon - which had been held by the Liberals for 23 years - with a 7.2 per cent swing in the votes.
Since then the popular local member has served the region for four terms and fought hard to secure much needed services locally, with the return of V/Line passenger rail to Ararat among his long list of achievements.
At last month's ordinary meeting Council passed a resolution under seal to congratulate Mr Helper and thank him for his contribution to Ararat.
Ararat Rural City chief executive officer Andrew Evans presented the retiring minister with the acknowledgement letter during a recent visit to the region.
"As a number of politicians have said...Joe is a fantastic bloke, he was a magnificent local member and I think everybody no matter what side of politics you were on, recognised the valuable contribution and work Joe has put into this community as our representative," Mr Evans said.
"Council have done something that is not particularly common, but it shows the enormous regard that Joe is held in."
Upon accepting the appreciation Mr Helper said it was an honour to be recognised for what he has loved doing for the last 15 years.
"As I move on into the grand domain of 'grey nomadem' I reflect on many achievements that we as a community, a government and as a local member have been able to achieve together," he said.
"It has made Ripon a better place and for that I thank the community profoundly for allowing me to be a part of it.
"Good luck to Ararat for the future, good luck to the region for the future, I know it will be a prosperous one. I'm sure I'll see you all again along the road next to a fishing hole or somewhere else as I travel along into retirement."
Council also presented retiring member for Lowan, Hugh Delahunty with the same accolade following his 15 years' service in politics.
Mr Delahunty was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly at the 1999 Election to represent the electorate of Wimmera and was again returned to Parliament at the 2002 Election after a redistribution as the Member for Lowan. The Nationals' member was then re-elected in 2006 with a massive 72 per cent of the two party vote.
While Lowan only covers a small portion of the Ararat municipality, with towns including Willaura, Maroona, Mininera and Lake Bolac, Cr Colin McKenzie said Mr Delahunty was always a strong voice for the entire Western region.
"Hugh Delahunty of course only had a small section of our area in his electorate, but we are very appreciative of his contribution just like Joe Helper," he said.
"They were both very approachable people, they did their best for us and represented us very well."