December was a very busy month across Bass Coast with events galore and we even saw sunny summer days peak through towards the end of it.

Bass Coast Shire Council is a proud supporter of many events across our region. This was showcased in December with Council hosting three New Years Eve family friendly fireworks session at Cowes, Inverloch and Coronet Bay. Plus we organised and funded the fireworks for the Cowes Christmas Carols. It’s always so heartwarming to see the community out in force at these events.

We provided vital community grant funding to Christmas Carols events in Corinella, Coronet Bay, Grantville Inverloch, San Remo and Wonthaggi. I’d like to recognise the incredible number of volunteers we have across the Shire, without these people these events simply wouldn’t happen. These events take many hours of planning and it’s incredible to see what small teams can achieve.

Local markets including the Rhyll Twilight market, Island Foreshore Market and Inverloch Farmers Market all received support with their waste and our waste team was on hand at several events to educate the community on how to reduce, reuse and recycle.

We also welcomed thousands of cruise ships passengers to our shores. We were pleased to support the Rhyll Community Group to deliver the Cruise Ship welcomes and many of our Visitor Information Centre staff provided event support and we continue to do so for the remainder of the cruise season.

Alongside event support, we are helping to ensure everyone stays safe by the water and has plenty of opportunities to have fun. We have financially supported the YMCA Cowes Outdoor Pool to ensure it can open during the summer school holidays. We look forward to seeing big attendances; it’s such a great day out for the family and an opportunity to get in some lap swimming.

Beach patrols have also been ramped up over summer. Through our partnership with Life Saving Victoria (LSV) between 26 December and 19 February we support additional patrols to the LSV volunteer patrols, who generally patrol the beaches on Saturday afternoons, Sundays and public holidays. This means our beaches at Inverloch, Cowes Main Beach, Smiths Beach and Woolamai Beach benefit from patrols on weekdays and Saturday mornings as well. I encourage you to visit these beaches and swim between the flags.

Wishing you all the best for 2023.