Christmas 2024 messages: Shire of Irwin president Mark Leonard thanks volunteers & community for contributions

The Christmas-new year period is a time of celebration and reflection. This wonderful time of year brings families and friends together to share their experiences over the past year, to renew acquaintances and create new friendships. The Irwin shire continues to be a safe, family friendly community with a strong volunteering base that contributes to our community wellbeing, ensuring wherever possible we look after each other in good times and not so good. Our farmers have had an excellent year which has restored confidence through our rural areas. Our twin towns seem busier than ever — the crayfishing industry has proven resilient and continues to produce a world-class product. Visitors to our town are increasing every year ensuring our hospitality industries remain strong and continue to expand, providing a favoured destination for tourists along the Batavia and Turquoise coastal region. New industry to our region has brought new opportunities. At this special time of year, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all in our community that contribute to making the Irwin Shire such a strong, safe and friendly community, a special place to live. Please stay safe over the holiday period, look after family and friends and have a great Christmas and new year.