Council & Business
20 September, 2024
Geoff Love-d time with council
Since 1997, for all eight terms of the Central Goldfields Shire Council (CGSC) — through all the highs and lows, Geoff Lovett has seen it all.
But 27 years after he was first elected as councillor, Mr Lovett has decided it’s time to step away.
Reflecting on where it all began, Mr Lovett said his involvement with multiple community and sporting organisations motivated him to run for CGSC.
“I started thinking that I wanted to get involved and have a say in what’s going on in the community that I lived in,” he said.
“When I joined council there were three things I was keen on, I wanted to raise public awareness of the importance of history and the need to preserve and retain our historic buildings.
“Secondly, parks and gardens and the green belt that surrounds Maryborough, I value [those areas] within the community and the importance of them.
“Lastly, economic development in any community is paramount because you can have the best shops in the world but if people don’t have jobs and money there is no point.”
Mr Lovett was chosen to the first elected council alongside Jan Ford, Brian O’Connor, Barry Rinaldi and Ian Robertson in March 1997.
Mr Lovett believes one of his early achievements at council is the purchasing of the vacated high school, 404 and 2828 primary schools and obtaining the tech school for council to have control of the sites.
The high school is currently Havilah’s Palmerston site, the primary schools are now used as homes for private residents and the tech school was turned from a “bomb site” to the Station Domain community centre and council’s administrative building.
Other highlights during his eight terms as councillor and five terms as mayor include the restoration of the Maryborough Railway Station, the continued involvement of businesses such as True Foods, McPherson’s Printing Group and Sonac, being mayor during the 150th anniversary of Maryborough and the return of passenger trains in 2010.
“There have been countless highlights over my journey, but also some lows. The lowest being the sacking of the elected council in August 2017 when I was mayor at the time,” Mr Lovett said.
The then Minister for Local Government Natalie Hutchins dismissed council following Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate’s report stated CGSC showed clear evidence of governance failings.
“I still remember the minister calling me on a Thursday and she gave the council 38 things she wanted done in 72 hours and 12 hours later the government sacked us,” Mr Lovett said.
“My motivation [for re-election] quite simply was I felt I had something to prove, the fact that we were sacked left a nasty taste in my mouth and I felt I still had something to give to the community.
“When I was re-elected back in November 2020, I felt vindicated by our community as I thought that the council was very unfairly treated.”
Despite still enjoying the challenge of being a councillor, Mr Lovett said intervention from an unlikely source compelled him to step away.
“I had been thinking about it for a little while, but I was sitting watching the Biden and Trump debate and thought it’s time for me to go,” he said.
“I don’t like to say it but I’m 77, if I stand again I’ll be 81 and I looked at Joe Biden and I thought I don’t want to go out that way.
“I still enjoy it but it’s time for new blood, time for new ideas.”
With this chapter now coming to a close, Mr Lovett said his service to the community was only made possible by the people around him.
“I’m grateful to have been elected eight times to council and am very thankful to the community for this honour,” he said.
“I believe CGSC has a very exciting future. A number of important initiatives are in the pipeline, along with some challenges that need resolution.
“I thank my wife Margaret and [my] family from the bottom of my heart for their unwavering support for so many years. Without their constant help, it would not have been possible.”