Lord Mayor, I want to firstly thank Clr Tony Issa for his contribution as Lord Mayor. He has successfully brought this Council closer to the communities we serve. The number of community events he has initiated has not only been exemplary, but I believe has set a new benchmark in this Council’s history. Clr Issa has also managed to substantially raise the accessibility of the Lord Mayor’s office to the people of Parramatta. With so many other achievements, I want to thank him, his most patient wife Susan and their family for putting the families and people of Parramatta first even before their own. Thank you.

May I be the first to congratulation you, Lord Mayor Clr Garrard. You now occupy this role for the next 12 months as your fifth term. Ten years ago, the then new class of 1999 with Councillors Esber, Finn, Wilson and myself, I had then said that you as Labor leader were the most formidable Lord Mayor to campaign against. Ten years later, today, I am extremely pleased that you are now on our side. As your Deputy, I will learn a lot from you, and pledge my support to you to the best of my abilities.

I want to thank my Liberal and Independent Councillor colleagues for their nomination and support in electing me as the Deputy Lord Mayor. It is a timely reminder that the Lord Mayor is appropriately viewed as the first amongst equals. However, I see the Deputy Lord Mayor as the servant amongst equals. I fully intend to honour your trust and confidence in me.

It is also timely that after serving ten years in this Chamber, I am most appreciative of the many staff who have helped me to deliver the services and outcomes for our community. I am most grateful of our staff from our CEO, Rob Lang, and downwards. I am particularly grateful to our Councillors Support Officers, Chantel, Michele and Sandra. Especially in the last 12 months, they have dutifully supported me so much so that I affectionately call them Chiang’s Angels.

Not by design, but the last 12 months have also given me the opportunity to travel more and represent Parramatta in many other new places both in Australia and overseas. That said, it is always wonderful to fly home to Parramatta and Australia.

Yet my recent private visit to Lebanon has reminded me about our role as Councillors more than any other journey. I remind this Chamber about the late Joe Barakat who was the first Lebanese-Australian Councillor to be elected in the City of Parramatta. Among the innumerable achievements he had made for Parramatta and also the Lebanese-Australian community, the one achievement that he is and will continue to be most remembered for is Parramatta Road in Lebanon. Yes, he was able to persuade the local Lebanese authorities to name one of their roads Parramatta Road. Sadly, since that time, the City of Parramatta had neglected this until recently. Out of my own pocket and thanks to Sue Coleman (Group Manager City Services) and her team, a new Parramatta Road sign now hangs above Joe Barakat’s original in Lebanon. This is to ensure that the locals and visitors in Lebanon still remember the late Joe Barakat, while enabling Parramatta to publicly demonstrate its regards for the people of Kfarsghab, of Lebanon and of those Lebanese-Australians in Australia.

There are so many wonderful and positive contributions which every elected Councillor brings to this City of Parramatta. Regardless of whether these contributions are small or large, I remain hopeful hope that those who come after us will build on our gifts as Parramatta recently honoured the late Joe Barakat for his.

Finally, I want to congratulate our Mighty Parramatta Eels for their arrival at this year’s Grand Final. We are extremely proud of our Eels who have defied the pundits. Our Eels have made what seemed implausible only a few months ago now within reach - a Grand Final win after 23 years! Now, the City of Parramatta pits against the City of Melbourne. Very much like a NSW vs Victoria clash. May our Eels do us proud this weekend!

Thank you.

Clr Chiang Lim, Deputy Lord Mayor
Elected 30 September 2009

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