I am proud to have been appointed to the Local Government Mayoral Advisory Panel, along with nine other Mayors from across Victoria. The Panel is Chaired by Minister for Local Government, Shaun Leane. This year’s panel will focus on COVID-19 recovery, gender equality, and strengthening relationships with First Nations Victorians and will meet for the first time this week. This appointment means that I, on behalf of Bass Coast, have an incredible opportunity to help guide and shape Local Government in Victoria. There are some major challenges facing our communities, and with that, all levels of Government. Through this Panel, I hope to provide valuable advice and feedback to the Minister towards finding solutions and addressing some of these challenges. Some of the important issues I hope to discuss with the Panel include visitor economy issues arising from the pandemic, affordable housing including attracting workers to Bass Coast and climate change issues.

Last week’s Council Meeting saw the release of the Draft 2022/23 Budget for community feedback. Submissions are invited to the Draft Budget and can be made online, through www.engage.basscoast.vic.gov.au/22-23budget. We are hosting an on-line Facebook Q&A forum Wednesday, 4 May from 6.00pm to 7.30pm at www.facebook.com/basscoastshire. I encourage you to ask any Budget related questions you may have on the night. Copies of the Draft Budget are available online, you can drop in to our Customer Service Centre in Wonthaggi to view a copy, or contact basscoast@basscoast.vic.gov.au or 1300 BCOAST (226 278) on (03) 5671 2211 to request a copy be sent to you. The submission period closes at 5.00pm on Monday, 16 May.

We are also calling for community feedback proposed changes to the Governance Rules. Governance Rules specify how we need to conduct Council Meetings, as well as delegated committee meetings. Find more information on the proposed changes to the Governance Rules and provide your feedback at www.engage.basscoast.vic.gov.au/govrules before Friday, 20 May.

And finally, our business and industry survey is now open. The information gathered from the survey will help us to understand some of the challenges and opportunities for businesses in Bass Coast and better guide the work we do to facilitate a healthy and sustainable economy. The survey can be found at www.engage.basscoast.vic.gov.au/businesssurvey and closes on Monday, 23 May.