Mayor’s Christmas and New Year Message

Looking back on the year, we have achieved some significant milestones in Rockingham which are bringing great benefits to our community.

The Baldivis Sport Complex is nearly complete, with the official opening to take place in early 2023. We finished the Koorana Reserve upgrade, Port Kennedy Dog Park, Mike Barnett Sports Complex outdoor courts upgrade and floodlighting, the Point Peron spur groyne and the Mersey Point sea wall.

We’ve also showcased our beautiful City to the rest of WA with some spectacular events. The Castaways Sculpture Awards were a huge success once again, and the Channel 7 Rockingham Beach Cup attracted thousands of people to come and ‘rediscover the extraordinary’ in Rockingham. The City hosted and supported a big range of community events throughout the year and I was lucky enough to attend many of them and meet some of the remarkable people who make up our community. When we all band together we really do put on a great show and I couldn’t be prouder to live in the City of Rockingham.

Over the year we also recognised the achievements of our community members with the Citizen of the Year Awards, Sports Star Awards, volunteer recognition celebrations, Pioneers’ Luncheon and the Breakthrough Music Competition, to name a few. We also won some awards of our own and the City is very proud to have been recognised as an industry leader in a range of areas including tourism, work health and safety, road safety, environmental health, suicide prevention and our youth centre facility.

Christmas is a time of joy and giving, but this is not necessarily the case for everyone. Please take a moment to consider those who may be experiencing hardship and for whom Christmas represents a stressful or challenging time.

I would also like to acknowledge the many people who won’t be getting a break and will be working over the Christmas-New Year period. Our police, emergency services and Defence Force personnel will be busy and possibly away from their families, and there are many City employees who will continue to provide essential services over this period. Your bins will still be collected as normal over the holiday break and the Millar Road Landfill and Recycling Facility is open every day except on Christmas Day.

If you are on the road during the holiday period, please take care and don’t drive tired. Take regular breaks so you can arrive at your destination safely.

On behalf of my fellow Council Members and all staff at the City of Rockingham, I would like to wish everyone in the community a merry Christmas and a happy, safe and healthy New Year.

Deb Hamblin City of Rockingham Mayor