Such long serving community service should not go unrecognised and unrewarded and, after all, it was only a minor criminal offence. It is a pity that the government imposed rate cap would prevent the council from providing a chauffeur-driven limousine for the mayor as this would preclude any future mistakes.

I take umbrage at those citizens of the shire that now refer to the ex-mayor as Usain. This is not a joking matter.

The TAC is reminding Victorians to put away their phone and pay attention when walking this summer.

Nearly 200 pedestrians have lost their lives on Victorian roads in the past five years. Despite far less congestion in rural areas, more than a quarter (56) of those people died outside metropolitan Melbourne.

Of those 56, Saturday proved to be by far the most fatal day of the week, with 15 regional pedestrian lives lost – the next highest was eight.

A lapse of concentration when out walking could turn deadly. We all know pedestrians will come off second best in a crash with a vehicle like a car, tractor, truck or motorbike.

What we are asking pedestrians to do is be aware of their surroundings at all times and put away the mobile phone when out for a walk or a drive.

Distractions are a major cause of road trauma and all road users, whether they’re drivers, pedestrians, cyclists or riders, are at risk when their attention is taken from the important task of using our road network.

TAC road safety research has revealed about half (51 per cent) of regional drivers admit to answering or making a phone call while driving.

More than a quarter (27 per cent) of regional drivers said they read text messages while stopped at traffic lights, less than those drivers from metropolitan areas (36 per cent). However, regional drivers were more likely than city drivers to read a text while actively driving (14 per cent versus 9 per cent).

Whether you’re driving a car that’s moving or at a standstill, using your phone without a hands-free kit just shouldn’t be an option.

Rural roads often have higher speeds, so if you’re looking at your phone for just a couple of seconds while driving at 100km/h, you’ll travel almost 50 metres virtually blind. 

Installing hands-free technology while minimising your talk time, asking one of your passengers to look after your phone or even placing it in the boot are all better options than risking your life or others.

The challenge for Australian of the Year David Morrison and those who spruik a republic is to come up with a model that reflects Australian aspirations. 

It is not enough to promote the dubious idea that every Australian should be able to aspire to this role. 

A head of state needs to be able to safeguard the rule of law and ensure that those wielding political power are accountable when things go wrong. 

With the Westminster system of responsible government now an echo of its once highly valued origins, a head of state needs to provide more than the the current vice-regal version.

Otherwise voters will stay with a model, albeit flawed, that seeks to protect us from the dictatorial aspirations of a new generation of politicians who seek more power while being less accountable for their decisions.