Councillor report – Victorian Tourism awards – November 2025
Published on 17 December 2025
At the December Council meeting, CR Tania Maxwell reported on the 2025 Victorian Tourism Awards.
"On the 27th of November I attended the Victorian Tourism Awards held at the beautiful Centrepiece building in the Rod Laver precinct in Melbourne. I was honoured to attend the evening as a part of my Tourism portfolio.
The black-tie affair was spectacular, not just the entertainment, the sumptuous meal, the magnificent gowns and the suits worn, which went from 007 style to the outlandish, but because our very own Ned Kelly Discovery Hub took away the Silver Award not once but twice.
They had success in two categories of’ Tourist Attraction’ and ‘Cultural Tourism’ defeated by Animal Land Children’s Farm 30 minutes from Melbourne and the Shrine of Remembrance for Cultural Tourism. You can see there is some strong competition for these awards.
I would like to convey my gratitude to the visitor services team leader - Manda Stevens, who spent an enormous amount of time completing the application. To Skye Taylor for her enthusiasm in promoting the Hub and her dedication to supporting tourism in the region. Both are incredible woman who represented council on the evening. Of course, a shout out to their manager from the economic development, environment and compliance team - Celeste Brockwell.
My colleague Cr Winters also joined us for an evening of entertainment and opportunities to congratulate other winners and finalists in our region. Valley View Caravan Park in Whitfield, also received a Silver Award in the Caravan and Holiday Parks category. The Awards event showcases some of the best that Victoria has to offer, and the Northeast was well represented in many categories.
I also had the opportunity to meet with Minister for Tourism Steve Dimopoulos, and I raised the Wangaratta Whitfield Road. Expressing councils’ gratitude for previous funding and the governments interest in highlighting and support the King Valley. I did use this opportunity to convey my concern about promoting the region knowing the road had deteriorated into disrepair and that safety for anyone travelling on that road was of great concern. Minister Dimopoulos conveyed that he would speak with Minister Horne, to discuss this matter further.
Once again, I would like to congratulate the staff at the Ned Kelly Discovery Hub and I hope there will be an announcement of who the 1000th person is who visited the centre."