It has been a pretty big week here at Council, with the August Ordinary Council Meeting, the Bass Coast Business Awards and lots more on the schedule.

Before I get into all of the action from the week, I would like to take a minute to acknowledge our CEO, Ali Wastie, who was named as one of the 2019 Top 50 Public Sector Women (Victoria) last week. What an incredible achievement and a well-deserved recognition of her leadership, inspiration and accomplishments. Congratulations Ali!

At last Wednesday’s Meeting, Council resolved that climate change poses a serious threat and should be treated as an emergency. So, we’re going to develop a 10-year action plan to help us target zero net emissions by 2030. We’ll also support our community and advocate to State and Federal Governments for stronger actions on their part. In making this declaration, we’ve joined 35 other local governments to help build the voice that’s coming from our communities.

The Bass Coast Business Awards just keep getting bigger and it was fantastic to see all the locals, representing their businesses at the presentation night last Friday. Huge congratulations go to the winners of the judged awards and the people’s choice awards, and of course to the winner of the big one - Bass Coast Business of the Year. It was a ripper of a night, and it was great to see so many amazing local businesses rewarded for all of their hard work and dedication to the Bass Coast region.

I discovered a hidden gem of our Shire recently – the Bell Park Scout Park in Nyora. It is a really cool place, with a lot of potential, which has unfortunately become a bit run down over the years. The Camp’s committee is dedicated to working really hard to get this fantastic facility back to how it was in its glory days. They will need a bit of help to get it there, but I am confident it can be restored and become the valuable asset for the community it deserves to be.