At the end of February, myself, Deputy Mayor Cr Michael Whelan, CEO Ali Wastie and three members of Council’s Executive Leadership Team took an amazing road trip to Bendigo and Swan Hill.

The purpose of the trip was to find out about some key projects and ideas that these two Councils are working on, and then bring what we learnt back to Bass Coast. In Bendigo, the itinerary included looking at some great café/laneway activation areas and the repurposing of significant historical buildings, such as the Bendigo Gaol, into important community and cultural assets.

Then it was on to Swan Hill, where we got to learn all about Swan Hill’s regional economy. We were also given the opportunity to give a couple of presentations ourselves about the success of our three-bin waste system and an overview of some the key challenges and opportunities facing Bass Coast. During our visit, we were also able to take a look at some of Swan Hill’s place-making initiatives along the Murray River, including historical attraction, Pioneer Park. We actually visited Pioneer Park twice, during the day and again in the evening to experience the fantastic laser light show ‘Heartbeat of the Murray’. This was a great opportunity to be inspired about what a sound and light show offering could look like for Wonthaggi, as part of the Dinosaur Trail experience.

The generosity of Swan Hill Rural City Council and Bendigo City Council in providing us with their time and access to the thinking behind some of their wonderful initiatives was incredible. We have extended an open invitation for both Councils to visit us in Bass Coast when they are able to. Collaborating with other Council’s is something that we could do a lot more of – working together and learning from each other – we all face similar issues.

During March and April, Council will be engaging with the community to help inform our Council Plan 2021-25, long-term Community Vision and 10-year Financial Plan. We will be holding both in-person and online sessions (COVID-19 restrictions dependant), so if you are keen to have a say on the future you want to see in Bass Coast, please visit www.basscoast.vic.gov.au/ourfuture for the timetable of engagement opportunities, or to fill out the survey.