00:05Councillor Inchman's family advised council yesterday that Lisa passed away in John Hunter
00:09Hospital on Friday 20th of March after a short period in care. Councillor Inchman was first
00:16elected to Paul Macquarie Hastings Council in 1995 and served three terms to 2008, being re-elected
00:23to council after the administration period in 2012, 2016, 2021 and again in 2024. Lisa
00:31represented her community as a strong advocate with great care, insight and experience over
00:37many years. Her long-standing commitment to the public service made a lasting contribution
00:42to our region and to the many people she had worked alongside for many years. Lisa was also
00:49heavily involved in a number of community organisations within her community over the years. On behalf
00:55of council and our community I wish to express our deepest condolences to Lisa's family, friends
01:00and her support network and as a mark of respect we will be flying the council flags at half
01:06mass today. Council will now take some time to reflect on council Inchman's service to community
01:13and discuss appropriate ways to commemorate her service and her contribution to the Paul Macquarie
01:17Hastings region through her various community work as both a councillor and also a volunteer.
01:23The family has kindly requested privacy at this time. On a personal reflection note and as a councillor
01:31who served with Councillor Inchman on and off for the last 14 years, I would simply say that I had
01:36a strong
01:38and huge respect for Councillor Inchman's ability to prosecute an argument in the chamber and whilst Lisa
01:45and I had many differing points of view on various topics debated in the chamber, we both chose to
01:50respect each other's ability and points of view, maintaining an amicable and respectful relationship
01:56in the pursuit of serving our community to the best of our ability and preferring to play the issue,
02:02not the person. Respectfully and insisting with keeping the focus on Councillor Inchman's life and
02:08contribution to the community. I won't take questions today on technical matters around the vacancy at the
02:14Councillor Bench, other than to say that no count back or by-election will be required to fill the vacancy
02:19created. Council will issue a further statement shortly following this notification this morning
02:25with more detail and reflections. Thank you so much.
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