Waste decision deferred – City of Ballarat council briefs

AT the first ordinary City of Ballarat council meeting for the new councillor group, a majority voted to defer change to weekly household waste collection and the introduction of weekly food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collection.

A notice of motion was brought forward by Cr Ted Lapkin calling for the deferral, despite the previous councillor group voting at the October 2023 meeting to introduce the changes

Several community submissions were read out, the majority of which did not support the deferral.

At the October 2023 meeting, results from two community surveys were presented to councillors as well as cost predictions for different options.

Cr Lapkin said reducing the collection of general waste would make the lives of residents more challenging.

“That decision was a bad idea, a bad idea that if implemented will make the lives of Ballarat residents harder and I dare say smellier,” he said.

“I don’t think that the people of Ballarat are trained seals, and they will be seduced by education to do something that they don’t want to do.”

Cr Des Hudson was the only councillor to vote against the notice of motion, saying Cr Lapkin’s motion was “careless and unwarranted,” and that he should have waited for a briefing.

“He’s seeking to be out there, to be populist, to be sending it out of the gates,” said Cr Hudson.

“Probably three quarters of the submissions tonight were about retaining the council position, not about reversing the position without any data that I heard from Cr Lapkin in terms of speaking to how he is going to address landfill, how he is going to decrease costs.

“Leadership is not always about doing what’s popular, leadership at times is being able to make a decision in the best interest of the community, not only just for new but for decades to come.”

At the current rate the community is disposing of waste, a new cell must be opened at the Smythesdale Landfill site every three years at a cost of $5 million.

Ongoing capping work to meet Environmental Protection Authority regulations costs $3.25 million a year with operating costs totally $8 million a year.

A report will now be brought to council with alternative options and their financial implications.

Early years report noted

Councillors noted the two-year report for the municipal early years plan 2022 to 2026 which featured key achievements.

These included road safety activities at Wendouree Children’s Centre, having 689 wellbeing referrals made by maternal and child health, Parent Place outreach operated two days a week, and a culture and identity learning session held for early years professionals.

Some key actions for the third year of the plan include developing a children and youth page on the City of Ballarat website, beginning construction of the Sebastopol Community Hub and Kindergarten, and promoting more STEM initiatives for children.

“We want to give young people the absolute best start we possibly can,” said Cr Hudson.

Reviewing engagement

Councillors noted the annual community engagement report which details the interactions between residents and the City of Ballarat.

The number of engagements on the MySay website increased last financial year compared to the previous year and the open space strategy received the most engagement with 960 responses.

Offline engagement methods included conversation kits, a youth forum, postcard surveys, and school visits.

Cr Ben Taylor said response numbers on the MySay page are low given the population of the City of Ballarat and that it is critical to engage with more of the community.

“When you break down some of the engagements that have happened, they’re actually not that big,” he said.

“For a population base of over 131,000 and growing, that’s not big numbers.”

Inclusion improvements

A report about year two of the disability action and inclusion plan was noted by councillors.

Achievements included the assistance dog relief area, accessibility improvements to Ballarat Aquatic and Lifestyle Centre, a new accessibility landing page on Visit Ballarat, and increased engagement with people with a disability.

The next two-year plan is in its final stages of development.