COUNCILLOR COLUMN – October 04, 2018

Have your say on places and spaces
Did you know that the City of Greater Geelong maintains more than 500 community buildings, 275 playgrounds and over 2000 hectares of open space across the region?

They are huge numbers, and at the moment we’re creating a new plan for how we manage these places and spaces, and where we’ll need to focus our investment in the coming years.

We’re calling for the community’s input into this plan, and we want as much feedback as we can possibly get.

This is an important opportunity to have your say on things such as halls, swimming pools, youth spaces, kindergartens, libraries, sporting facilities and much more. If you think you need more of any of these things in your area – make sure you visit geelongaustralia.com.au/yoursay or access via the Geelong City smartphone app, and complete the ‘Community Places and Spaces’ survey. Printed copies of the survey are available at all City of Greater Geelong customer service centres and at libraries. The responses will give us a good idea of the priorities in each part of the region, which will guide our decision making.

Our places and spaces are where we get involved in the community, form social connections, and improve our physical and mental wellbeing.

That’s why this is such an important project for Council and the region. We’d love to have your input.

A new ‘youth voice’ for Greater Geelong
On October 15 we’ll open nominations for a new Greater Geelong Youth Council. This is an exciting chance for young people in our region to get involved in the issues and decisions that matter to them. The Youth Council will be open to 12 to 17 year-olds, and will feature 12 junior councillors – three from each of the four Council Wards in the region. Nominees will be voted on by members of youth advisory groups within their ward, and the 12 successful candidates will then elect a Junior Mayor.

The Junior Mayor will report to Council quarterly, and because this will be an official advisory committee, it will have a genuine impact on the decisions we make. We’re looking for a diverse range of nominees representative of the entire region, so if you’re interested or know someone who might be, please encourage them to nominate via geelongaustralia.com.au from October 15.

Celebrating our heritage in all its forms
I’ve recently been appointed Chair of the Greater Geelong Heritage Advisory Committee.

This is an honour, and will allow me to delve deeper into some of the work I’m already doing as Chair of Council’s Arts, Culture and Heritage portfolio. When we think of heritage, often we think about historic buildings. But it is actually much broader than that, and can also include Indigenous, cultural, historical and natural environment domains.

On the Bellarine, for example, a lot of work has been done to restore the land from the days of early settlement. A number of farms, creeks and erosion gullies have been remediated with the planting of Indigenous species.

Another example – the Bellarine Vintage Machinery Group is looking for a home for its historic machinery, which it puts on display to the community regularly. They’re one of a number of community groups looking for suitable land or venues for their activities, and I’m hopeful we can help. I’m looking forward to working with all of the representatives on the committee to promote and celebrate our region’s heritage.

An arts and culture destination
Geelong is growing a reputation for its arts and culture events, and we’re in a particularly exciting time on the calendar at the moment.

The Geelong Gallery is playing host to the Archibald Prize exhibition, Australia’s premier portrait competition; White Night is set to light up the streets of central Geelong on October 13; and the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre will host the Word for Word Festival from November 16-18.

All of these events are well worth making the trip into town for. The Word for Word Festival is Australia’s only dedicated non-fiction literary festival. I attended the launch late last week, and the program is outstanding, with a varied range of speakers who are sure to provoke plenty of thought and discussion. I’ve read Billy Griffiths’ excellent book, ‘Deep Time Dreaming’, so I’m particularly looking forward to seeing him speak. Other guest speakers include Helen Garner, Professor Gillian Triggs, Kerry O’Brien, Peter Phelps and Samantha Lane. Visit wordforwordfestival.com.au for the full line-up. The
City of Greater Geelong is proud to support the festival via Geelong Major Events funding.