It was great to be a part of the event for the Save the Western Port Woodlands recently, playing music with the Bass Coast Pickers. Hundreds gathered at The Gurdies Winery to help raise awareness and funds for the Save Western Port Woodlands campaign. It was also great to see Cr Brett Tessari lend his talents to the event, auctioning off a number of beautiful artworks to help raise money for the cause.

To celebrate Social Inclusion Week recently, we held a special film screening at the Wonthaggi Union Community Arts Centre. We also took the opportunity to launch our recently adopted Access Equity and Inclusion in Bass Coast Plan 2021-25.

The Remote Connections Film Project was developed by Gippsland Disability Advocacy to give people with disability a voice. I would like to acknowledge the stars of the film, for their courage in sharing their personal experiences of living with disability and that of their families and carers, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was wonderfully moving and inspiring and what we have learnt from these shared experiences will assist us all to better understand and address the range of barriers people with disability experience in their everyday lives in Bass Coast, especially during a pandemic.

This Plan outlines the key actions Council will take over the next four years, in partnership with our community, to address the priority access and inclusion issues identified by our community members with disability, their families and carers, and service providers in Bass Coast. I’m proud of Council’s commitment to improving access and inclusion for all in Bass Coast, in terms of what we have already achieved and what we are aiming to achieve in the future, for the benefit of absolutely everyone – our residents, visitors and people working in our shire.

I would especially like to thank our Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee members, the community members and local organisations for their input and commitment to developing this Plan.