CITY of Greater Bendigo councillors decided not to support a motion to construct child-proof gates at Strathdale Park Play Space during their regular meeting on Monday, 24 October.<\/p>\n
The motion was carried after council received a community petition with more than 90 signatories asking for the installation.<\/p>\n
Cr Matthew Evans spoke against the installation, and said although childproof gates weren\u2019t required, child safety is an ongoing concern.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe play space currently meets Victorian standards and there are no Australian standards to go beyond that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat said, the petition does actually highlight a very important issue and that is child safety and being vigilant.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is worth noting the vast majority of parents\u2026 [in Bendigo] are incredibly vigilant of their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cr Greg Penna supported the petition and asked the councillors \u201cwhat value do we put on the wellbeing and life of a child?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe request to have these child-proof gates installed\u2026 in my opinion, is a responsible and common-sense request. It\u2019s achievable and low-cost and\u2026 has to be seriously considered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Councillors chose not to support the petition with only Cr Penna voting in favour of it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Electoral structure review<\/strong><\/p>\n Councillors debated the pros and cons of their electoral structure following an impending review by the recently-established Electoral Representation Advisory Panels earlier this month.<\/p>\n The City of Greater Bendigo is one of 39 Victorian municipalities whose structures aren\u2019t compliant with the Local Government Act 2020.<\/p>\n Regional city councils are required to have single-member ward structures while the municipality currently operates as a multi-member structure.<\/p>\n The City of Greater Bendigo previously consisted of a single-member ward structure, and Cr Margaret O\u2019Rourke was against the readoption of it.<\/p>\n \u201cIs this the best approach and should we be given a choice? We are actually two municipalities\u2026 over 3000 square kilometres,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201c[Rural councils] get to choose [between three structural options]. Why don\u2019t we get to have that choice?<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s at least have that opportunity, write to the minister and hopefully the panel will have a further discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n Following reviews by the panel, a recommendation is set to be made on the city\u2019s electorate structure in anticipation of the 2024 local government elections.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Groups get grants<\/strong><\/p>\n Council endorsed the allocation of more than $320,000 in Large Grants funding amongst 18 applicants.<\/p>\n The cash is set to be given to community groups and neighbourhood houses for various workshops and engagement programs.<\/p>\n Cr David Fagg said he was \u201cglad to support\u201d the organisations although it highlighted a lack of State Government support.<\/p>\n \u201cI would be remiss if I didn\u2019t point out that several of these organisations are partially funded by the Victorian State,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should not be the place of council to subsidise this work even though I do that gladly.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annual report analysed<\/strong><\/p>\n The City of Greater Bendigo\u2019s annual report was brought to councillors which mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf said allowed them to reflect on their perseverance during the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is amazing how quickly time marches on, and aside from the fact completing an annual report is a requirement of council, it\u2019s a good opportunity to reflect on what was achieved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe past few years have felt very repetitive but the City of Greater Bendigo has continued to deliver services and drive the economic rebound as we adjusted to living with COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n Highlighted efforts during the second half of 2021 included the construction of a $7 million hub at the Bendigo Botanic Gardens and the more-than $3 million development of Ewing Park.<\/p>\n Cr Metcalf also credited the Elvis: Direct from Graceland exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery as giving the local economy \u201cthe post-COVID kickstart it needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Cr Rod Fyfe said, \u201cit goes to show what a vibrant city we are despite COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n