25/08/2026
๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐จ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ - ๐๐๐ด๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ
Welcome to the 17th edition of the Shire President's Update, providing our community with an overview of recent Council decisions, projects, advocacy and activities taking place across the Shire of Dumbleyung.
๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐น & ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐
Council's Audit, Risk & Improvement Committee met on 20 August, with the annual Compliance Audit Return among the matters considered. This was followed by the August Ordinary Council Meeting, where Council endorsed the Business Plan for the Dumbleyung Land Development Major Land Transaction.
The Shire has secured $3,621,399 in Federal Government funding towards the headworks and servicing of 16 residential lots in the Dumbleyung townsite. With an overall project value of approximately $4 million, this represents a significant investment in creating new opportunities for residential development and supporting the future growth of our community.
As part of the statutory process, Council has endorsed a Business Plan which will now be advertised for six weeks for community comment. Submissions close on 2 October 2026, and I encourage interested community members to take the opportunity to review the proposal and provide feedback. Following the Council meeting, we were delighted to host Sergeant Cheryl Bell and First Class Constable Dan Masterson for dinner and an informal discussion with Councillors.
It was a valuable opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the Shire and our local police and to discuss matters of mutual interest affecting our communities.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐
The Shire President and CEO have continued to represent Dumbleyung at a number of important regional and State Government meetings.
On 28 July, we attended a meeting of 4WDL in Lake Grace. Members reviewed the organisation's current strategies and discussed its next major area of regional collaborations. Building on the experience and success of the key worker housing project, 4WDL will now turn its attention to the challenges that are constraining the development of industrial land across the region.
On 4 August, we met with Minister Carey and policy advisers at Dumas House to discuss the regional housing challenges and opportunities facing the Shire. Housing remains one of the most significant issues affecting the ability of regional communities to attract workers, support local businesses and grow our population, and we will continue advocating strongly for solutions.
On 14 August, the Shire participated in a WALGA Central Country Zone meeting hosted by the Shire of Kulin, bringing together representatives from 15 local governments.
The meeting included a strategic workshop facilitated by Caroline Robinson from 150Square, providing members with an opportunity to consider what the Zone can achieve collectively and how we can strengthen regional advocacy.
A number of important motions were supported, including:
โข Seeking the modernisation of Western Australia's legislation dealing with wandering livestock;
โข Assessing the value of local government rates lost where land has been acquired by the State Government or other public entities and is no longer rateable;
โข Seeking greater clarity from the Local Government Insurance Scheme around insurance and liability protections for volunteer firefighters;
โข Requesting a review of the interaction between Work Health and Safety, Bush Fires and emergency services legislation to help protect volunteers and support the sustainability of volunteer fire response; and
โข Progressing regional migration settings and greater flexibility to assist regional communities in addresses workforce shortages.
$๐ฐ.๐ฑ ๐ ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด
There was some very welcome news this month, with 4WDL securing $4,508,965 through the State Government's Regional Housing Support Fund to help deliver 20 new homes across six local government areas in the Wheatbelt and Great Southern.
4WDL is the Voluntary Regional Organisation of Councils comprising of the Shires of Wagin, West Arthur, Williams, Woodanilling, Dumbleyung and Lake Grace, and I am pleased to serve as Deputy Chair of the organisation.
The successful joint application forms part of the State Government's $75 million Regional Housing Support Fund. When combined with local government and other project contributions, the regional housing program represents an investment of approximately $13.5 million.
Importantly, this success has not happened overnight. It follows several years of coordinated regional planning, including detailed housing analysis, individual local housing strategies and the preparation of a comprehensive business case.
That work identified a significant growing shortage of suitable housing, with analysis indicating that the six-Shire region will require between 158 and 254 additional key worker homes over the next decade.
For the Shire of Dumbleyung, the funding includes $500,000 towards the construction of two new key worker houses, with the regional project planning for completion by mid-2028.
๐ฆ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐
It is also exciting to see activity beginning on the ground for the Stubbs Park Pavilion Redevelopment.
SIME Building & Construction has commenced site establishment, including fencing of the construction area and the delivery of materials and equipment.
As works progress, the construction area may need to change depending on the timing of deliveries and the space required for particular activities. This may result in temporary changes to vehicle access to the tennis courts.
We will continue to keep the community informed and appreciate everyone's understanding while these important works are underway.
The redevelopment remains on target for completion by the end of March 2027, and we look forward to seeing this important community facility take shape over the coming months.
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐
It has also been great to see progress on several smaller but important community initiatives.
Following a $3,000 contribution from the Shire towards Community Garden upgrades, members of the Men's Shed and community garden volunteers have been busy working on the new produce hub shelter. Thank you to everyone contributing their time and effort to this project.
The Nenke Park power upgrade has also now been completed by Western Power, bringing that project to a close.
Finally, we welcome Tegan Hall as Acting Director of Corporate Services, along with our new CESM Matt Clarke and CBFCO Shayne Smith. We look forward to the contribution they will make to the Shire and our community.
