Euroa's Vicki Halsall enters council race

HOUSE renovator Vicki Halsall is one of 15 candidates running for Strathbogie Shire Council in the October council election. Ms Halsall grew up in Longwood and moved to Melbourne to study at university, where she lived for 15 years before moving to Euroa in 2008. Why is she running for council? “I think it's because I care – I genuinely care about our shire and our community,” she said. “I've been really disappointed with the views we have of our Shire, and I feel like it should be a positive partnership instead of a negative one. “It almost seems like the Shire does something and the community is just looking for an opportunity to criticise. “Whereas I think if the shire was directing their investment into things the community actually supported, then we would have a whole different relationship.” Ms Halsall said she would endeavour to put the community’s interests first. “Often what the community needs and what the council has been delivering is a bit different,” she said. “And there are constraints with the Local Government Act that influence how money needs to be spent, but at the end of the day, surely it's got to deliver workable, better outcomes.” She said as a long-time resident, she believes she would represent views held by the majority in the community. Ms Halsall believes “woke” has gone too far. She would not support Fera Australia’s proposed windfarm development in Ruffy. “I'm all for renewables, but not windfarms in Ruffy,” she said. She would also like to see council become more involved with the Inland Rail development in Euroa, saying the development is a once-in-50-year opportunity to affect the town’s future. Ms Halsall describes herself as apolitical, saying she has recently been disgruntled with, and has disengaged from, state and federal politics. Some in the community may know her through her posts on the Euroa Community Noticeboard Facebook page. She said her online posts have been a way for the community to become familiar with how she thinks while she considered running for council. “I chose to interact on the community noticeboard so people might get an idea of how I think and how I function,” she said. “And I guess to be brave. “Sometimes it's difficult to be honest about your views or your feelings when they may go against the status quo.” But Ms Halsall is tired of the relentless negativity she sees online. “I would like to stop the negativity,” she said. “I would like to challenge the keyboard warriors to think before they type. “I'd like to be part of a movement that has the community on side and supportive [of council] as opposed to negative.”