Published on Wednesday, 11 February 2026 at 4:27:03 PM
Owing to the Toodyay Herald’s recent decision to cancel our Shire President, Mick McKeown’s "Between You and Me" column in its monthly edition, we are now providing it to the Toodyay Shire community through the Shire’s channels.
Australia Day
Last month, the Shire of Toodyay held a breakfast to celebrate Australia Day. This was an opportunity to look back over the past year for our nation. We had Federal, State and Local Government elections, and perhaps more than our fair share of troubles - fires and cyclones and floods - and the terrible event at Bondi just before Christmas.
But in Toodyay, our community’s fairness, resilience, and generosity of the many who volunteer in our Shire, got us through another year.
We should be thankful that despite our differences, the people of goodwill in our community share more in common than what divides us, and we can now look forward to the coming year with gratitude for the home we have here in Toodyay and a determination to continue to stand up for the values that bind us together.
At the Australia Day Breakfast, we welcomed six new citizens to our nation. We also presented Australia Day Awards recognising outstanding efforts by the citizens of Toodyay to the Toodyay Cricket Club, Thomas and Nicholas Thornton, Barry Keens, and Stephen and Liz Ferguson. Congratulations to all those nominated and to the winners!
Finances
Council has received the audit of the Shire’s finances for the 2024-2025 year. As is required by law, the audit was received at the Shire before the end of December 2025. This is the first time in four years that the auditor has been able to comply with the law.
The overall result provided by the auditor was a “Qualified Opinion” – the qualification being that the finances quoted for the previous financial year could not be entirely relied on.
One item was raised by the auditor regarding duplication of Shire expenditure of just over $242,522 in mid-2025. Shire staff identified the duplicate expenditure when it occurred on 23 July 2025.
The day after the duplicate payments were made, Shire contacted all those affected (including Councillors) to advise them of duplicate payments. An amount of $208,855 was repaid by 31 July, followed by $22,647 by 22 August, and $350 by 31 December. Credit notes for the remaining $10,670 were issued because it was more cost-effective to do this than to pursue cash refunds for these suppliers.
Bridges
Following repairs to damage by vandals to the Newcastle Park Footbridge last year, further vandalism occurred. Following the additional repairs, Shire Staff arranged for a certified structural bridge engineer to carry out what is called a Level 1 Inspection and, in the interests of public safety, the engineer recommended continued closure of the bridge pending the results of a full structural engineering report.
The engineer inspected the bridge last week and we are now waiting on his report before considering what further action is necessary to make the bridge safe to re-open.
Main Roads WA, a department of State Government, ordered the closure of Slaughterhouse Bridge late last year. Main Roads has the entire responsibility and authority for bridge design in WA. Following a Council decision at the November Ordinary Council Meeting, the Shire has requested a design and costing for a new bridge from Main Roads, but we have not yet received it.
The cost of a new bridge will be in the millions of dollars and on 3 February, the CEO and I met with Ms Trish Cook, Federal Member for Bullwinkel, to ask for her help in accessing funding for the new bridge. We look forward to a good outcome.
Community Events
Double Barrel Entertainment held a Bulls, Bikes and Bands evening at the Toodyay Racecourse on the last Saturday in January. This was a great and well-attended event, and I was pleased to be among the crowd to enjoy the thrills and spills of the bull-riders and the music that followed.
The next Community Events on the calendar are the inaugural Toodyay Triathlon on 8 March at the Recreation Centre and the Avon Valley Vintage Association Swap Meet to be held on 14 March at the Showgrounds – which was an outstanding event last year - and we’re looking forward to both events very soon.
Cr Mick McKeown
Shire President
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