Councillor Rossiter: January 2007

Councillor Role

In 2008 Fiona ran for re-election on her own ticket- Team H. She was successful in being re-elected and only 100 votes short of her second candidate Gerald Power being elected also. If she had of been successful with the second candidate Orange Council would have had its first Aboriginal Councillor.

Items of particular interest to Fiona at this time would be the water issue in Orange. She has been active in working towards a way for future water sustainability. Evidence of the work done to date can be viewed on the Council web site- Water Project

Fiona also enjoys the role she plays in the numerous areas relating to the major portfolio in which she holds- Community Services. Given her background as a Registered Nurse, previous Councillor, Justice of the Peace, involvement in local community projects and various fundraising activities Fiona believes she is well suited to this role. In particular she is approachable, empathic, professional, understanding and seeks out the various needs of her community. Projects Fiona has been involved in through Council are:

* Water strategy for the future 2050
* Storm Water Harvesting scheme
* Planning and development of the New PCYC centre in Orange
* Spring Street Bridge
* Children's Memorial Garden
* Expansion of the Skate park
* Advocate for Icely and Ophir road users linking to Northern Distributor
* Youth Conference Orange
* Australian Rural Leadership Course- Vision Task needs assessment for families.
* Crime Prevention CCTV cameras
* Christmas Festival
* Chamber of Commerce representative for Council
* Disability services
* Mount Canobolas as a Tourist area
* Dragon Boats Orange

In 2004 Fiona was first elected as a Councillor with Orange City Council. After a busy time with election and campaigning against 77 other possible candidates. Fiona became the third female Councillor at Orange. Fiona is an extremely active Council member and some of the projects that she has driven or been involved in are:

Designing and building two BMX Tracks in Orange after establishing a partnership with organisations to provide funding in support (competitive and recreational)
Lobbying and building a recreational play area for children at Glenroi
Working with the community and other Councillors to have an Aboriginal Flag flown at the Council Chambers
Working with a committee and Youth to establish "Not just another Café" (NJAC)
Set up a Pilot Project with Police, Public School and Council to provide bikes and helmets so that bike riding could become part of the sport curriculum at no cost to students.
Lobbied for changes in phone directory, reduced speed on distributor road, better meeting times, shared space, and much more.
Been an active member in the Community Plan 2020 for Orange
Amongst many other things... Visit this site monthly to stay updated on what Fiona has been involved in with Council.

Fiona's objectives on council

Council Objectives (PDF File)

Orange Councillor and Candidate 2008 Election
Please find in this document the completed profile with full policy information and many other extras added in.

You Tube- Orange Electorate Fiona Rossiter Team H

Visit this new website Australian Family Matters

Friday, January 26, 2007

January 2007: Australia Day Celebrations-Cook Park 26th Jan

It is an annual tradition for our family to get up early on the 26th January and have breakfast in Cook Park as a part of the Orange Australia Day Celebrations. We left home with our regalia on T-shirts with Australian flags on them, tattoo's stuck on to our body again with the Australian flag on and the Australian flag's in hand as we are so very proud of being Australian and see this as being patriotic.

Our family is quite a mixture of Nationalities. Our surname is Spanish, my husband is Welsh, I am English, one of our sons is Scottish and the rest of our children were born in Australia. My husband says this is the lucky country and some Australians just don’t know how lucky they are. We all became Naturalised and take every opportunity to tell people that we are Aussies. The lifestyle, traditions, mateship, language and even the fashion of Australia makes it unique.
Our outing to Cook Park this year saw us enjoy a traditional Aussie breakfast of sausages, egg and damper roll followed by fruit juice. While eating our food we were entertained by music and chatter with friends passing by. The awards were given out and plenty of stalls, music groups singing and performing, and displays were on show. There were even activities for the children like painting, craft and amusement rides. We had a lovely family day out and were proud to be a part of the celebrations as Australians.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Woolworth's Raising Funds for Farmers 23rd Jan

My daughter and I offered our help at the recent Woolworth's National Drought Action Day. The chain of supermarkets announced that they would donate the day's profit from the sale of goods to the Country Women's Association emergency grants program. Woolworth's are expecting to raise in excess of three million dollars to relieve struggling farmers, families and for research into sustainable agriculture.
We helped man the BBQ outside. The BBQ was supplied courtesy of Orange City Council and Woolworth's supplied the food. My daughter and I met and worked with the lovely ladies from Orange Country Women's Association and several gentlemen from the community. It was a busy time with plenty of chatter and hungry people fed which helped lead to a terrific outcome being, more money raised to help with the National Drought Action Day.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Meet Andrew Stoner MP Leader National Party 18th Jan

I always look forward to the opportunity of meeting people in Local State and Federal Government. My reasons are quite simple and that is that it allows me the opportunity to build my network and gain the opportunity to speak about issues, projects and interests for our community. This was of course the case when I attended a recent function to meet Andrew Stoner MP. Russell Turner MP was also on hand and the evening proved to be informative and allowed those present the opportunity to ask questions.
There was discussion about Rural Farmers and drought, education, health, childcare and other services. Mr Stoner spoke very well and had no difficulty in getting across issues of concern he and his party had. I look forward to the upcoming State election and of course wish all those running as candidates well. I know all to well the amount of time, commitment, research and money needed to run for our local election. My only words of wisdom would be “stay true to yourself and your values and remain committed and work hard for the people who are electing you.

Monday, January 1, 2007

Stand Against Violence-Robertson Park

My children and I called into Robertson Park last week to learn more about the support services for people affected by abuse and violence. This was a very informative stand and resource information was on hand. One of the resources I picked up was information about "Operation Courage" an Orange Domestic Violence Service. This is a self refer service for women and children living in Orange. Additional information in regards to support for people being abused can be located at the Community Health Department Sale St, Council Community Centre Kite St or contact your local police station.
Unfortunately this is a real problem in society and I commend the people who put together the information sharing and awareness building BBQ that I recently attended in Robertson Park.

Councillor Rossiter