Cr Prue Cutts
Deputy Mayor
Simpson Ward

As this is my first Ward Column following the Local Government elections, I would like to sincerely thank the residents of Simpson Ward for re-electing me. It is an absolute privilege to serve the wonderful communities of Mitcham and Vermont. My commitment remains to ‘Listen, Act and Deliver’ over these next 4 years, and I am looking forward to bringing positive change to our community.

I am deeply honoured to have been elected by my Councillor colleagues as Deputy Mayor of Whitehorse. In a career highlight, I was thrilled to open not one but two social enterprise cafes on 3 December, to mark International Day of People with Disabilities. Social enterprise cafes employ people with disabilities offering real-world training opportunities. Pop down to ‘Where is My Coffee?’ operated by Villa Maria Catholic Homes at the Nunawading Community Hub, or ‘Alkira Biz Café’ at 10 Harrow Street, Box Hill, and get your coffee fix for the day! These cafes had been a project which Councillors supported in the last term of Council, so I was delighted to see this long-term project come to fruition.

Many would be aware of the upgrade to Heatherdale Road between Canterbury and Whitehorse Roads during January. Thank you for your patience with this critical $820K+ project. Heatherdale Road is a high order link road and carries approximately 16,000 vehicles in both directions daily. A speed hump was recently installed in the Canterbury Road service lane near Nurlendi Road in Vermont. The community has been calling for this for decades, so I was pleased to be involved in this important safety improvement. 

Please reach out to me about any issue, or idea you may have. For those on Facebook, I encourage you to keep up-to-date with the latest news by following me @councillorpruecutts. Have a great 2025!

Cr Hayley Weller
Lake Ward

I am honoured to have been elected to Whitehorse City Council. 

Thank you to the Lake Ward residents for electing me to represent you. I am here to help you as a neighbour would and please reach out about any council matter. I look forward to working with you over the next four years. 

I also thank our emergency service workers for their tireless efforts as summer is a particularly busy time. I hope you have had a sublime start to the year and that 2025 is all that you want it to be and more.

Cr Jason Martin
Mahoneys Ward 

I am looking forward to serving the residents in Mahoneys Ward and the
broader community in Whitehorse.

January has been a busy month for Council as the budget is being prepared for the 2025/2026 financial year. Some changes relevant to you include the State Government recently announcing a rate cap of 3%, and increases to the Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund (formerly known as the Fire Services Property Levy), which appears on your rates notice.

To keep up-to-date please visit the Whitehorse City Council website, subscribe to our newsletters and of course the Whitehorse News.

Cr Peter Allan
Sparks Ward 

Firstly, thank you to the Sparks Ward voters for electing me back on to Council in a new Ward. I feel humbled and look forward to the next 4 years to achieve great results. Happy New Year to all and especially Chinese New Year of the Snake!

It has been a busy 3 months. I have either met with or attended functions with (amongst others) the Louise Multi-Cultural Centre - 40th Year AGM, Asian Business Association of Whitehorse, MCC Baseball Club, Surrey Park Cricket Club, Box Hill Hawks FC, Box Hill Open Space Committee to discuss how the Council and other levels of Government can acquire the old Box Hill Brickworks site for open space, Box Hill City Band - celebrating their 125th year concert, Surrey Park Model Boat Club end of year function, Alkira, healthAbility Community Services, Box Hill United Soccer Club and the Surrey Park Swimming Club celebrating their 120th year!

There are meetings planned with the Vicinity Shopping Centres, owners of Box Hill Central and Whitehorse Plaza and also the Suburban Rail Loop Authority to ascertain how Council can assist with State Government co-operation in minimising economic and community impacts on Box Hill CBD in a period of great change, a lot of which is in the State Government domain. Council is also advocating to other levels of government how we can revitalise the Box Hill precinct and shopping centres.

The State Government's proposed changes to the planning scheme in Victoria will have wide ranging and long term affects and Council will be looking to protecting our city and its' neighbourhood character as best we can.

I will be heavily advocating for the old Federation Brickworks site to be kept as Open Space and the whole local community will be looking to Council to partner with State and Federal Governments on this issue. 

In the coming 4 year term of council, I believe we need to look at a new community service hub in Box Hill to house various new and existing community service providers. That is one of my priorities!

Please contact me on any Council and/or Ward issue.

Cr Jarrod Gunn
Terrara Ward

With the whirlwind of the election and mandatory training over I am settling into this new role with gusto. After a very busy initiation, December arrived and with it the Christmas / New Years break allowing us all a little time to recharge and reset. I hope you too were able to spend some time with loved ones over this festive period.

Now in a new year and couple of months into the role and I can gladly say that I have hit the ground running. I have already taken on some serious debates in the Chamber and have already commenced work on my delegated subcommittees (Sport and Recreation, Metropolitan Transport Forum and Reconciliation Action Group). I look forward to being further engaged in these aspects of the role.

I am already enjoying the variation of purpose in this new role. A healthy combination of being proactive on planning and forecasting as well as being responsive to resident issues and concerns. For the former I have been pleased with the level of support offered by Officers and other Councillors as we set course for the next four years.

With respect to the latter, I can already attest to being helpful to residents who have already reached out for assistance either with a local issue/damage or to offer up suggestions for improvement.

I have already spent some time meeting and acquainting myself with a number of our trusted community and sporting institutions. My next hope is to further cement similar relationships with our many successful local businesses to help steer a path to prosperity for 2025 and beyond.

If you have any suggestions for improvement or ways that I can better represent the Terrara community do not hesitate to contact me.

Cr Ben Stennett
Walker Ward