MAYOR Anna Speedie will be urged to give written and video support for a Wodonga education delegation to Asia after she was stopped from joining the junket.
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Councillors on Monday night voted 3-2 against funding Cr Speedie’s trip to China and Vietnam next month.
Wodonga Senior Secondary College principal Vern Hilditch and Wodonga TAFE chief Mark Dixon were both disappointed by the move.
“It would have been good to have her there in person, but we will work around that with a strong letter of support and perhaps a video message,” Mr Dixon said.
Councillors opposed to the trip argued the educational institutions involved, which also include La Trobe University, should have fully or partly funded the mayor’s travel.
They also criticised the lack of notice, with the council only being fully briefed on the tour at the end of January.
Mr Hilditch said the Education Department was unlikely to have funded the trip of a non-employee, while Mr Dixon said it would have been a conflict of interest.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for TAFE to fund a local government council for an activity that promises to have significant economic benefits to the city,” Mr Dixon said.
On the timing matter, Mr Dixon said “at the end of the day it’s plenty of notice”.
“If you want to be successful in business….you’ve got to to be agile and take opportunities when they are presented,” he said.
Mr Hilditch said he first raised the potential value of a mayoral visit when he met with Cr Speedie and council chief executive Patience Harrington in April last year to discuss the school’s links to China and Vietnam.
“The role of the mayor in Asian countries is very much stronger and more prestigious than what it is in Australia,” he said.
“The council leaders are held in utmost regard and it’s important our mayor meets with their mayor to reflect the sincerity of the relationship.”
Mr Hilditch said his college had had ties to schools in Weihai and Hanoi for 13 and 4½ years respectively and trips to China and Vietnam often occurred in March.
He said 15 to 25 students from the nations were at his school, annually bringing in $25,000 each, and it was hoped they rose to 40 to 50.
Mr Dixon said his TAFE wanted to emulate its Mildura equivalent and form a system where Chinese came to study subjects such as accountancy and hospitality.
Councillor John Watson said on Tuesday he was “sure” a mayor would join a future delegation.
He also said with travel to Western Australia and Darwin for conferences the council’s “internal travel was more expensive than our international travel”.
