Advocating for a stronger community

Recently, I spoke about my commitment to advocate for the restoration of vital programs that the Whittington Link precinct offers the community.

One crucial role a councillor fulfils is to advocate for, and work productively with state and federal MPs to get results for the communities we represent, and I have continued to be active in this space for the people of Whittington and surrounding suburbs.

I am happy to report that, along with Cr Peter Murrihy, I have participated in several meetings recently with local residents about this site.

These meetings have also been attended by community members, board members of the Bellarine Learning and Living Centre, senior council officers, Member for Geelong Christine Couzens MP, and other local stakeholders – including the owner of the private building in the precinct.

The community expressed at these meetings a strong desire to see the local café and the opportunity shop reinstated.

As your local councillor, I have taken this on board and am advocating for this to happen, as one of the first options to re-energise this area.

There are a lot of other opportunities that will require time, effort, and money for the full potential of this site to be reached.

This is why we are determined to partner with the state government and work with the local community to ensure that we deliver the facilities and services that it wants and needs, and that can be supported by Council.

Council officers are working on developing a longer-term plan for a new Whittington Family and Community Hub.

The improvement to facilities and services will build on the work that the Bellarine Living and Learning Centre are already delivering for the community, including short courses in horticulture and barista training, digital literacy (learning to use a computer, an iPad, or other device), and offering taxation advice to local people on fixed low incomes.

The latter point is one that resonates with me as it was a big part of the reason I stood for election to Council – to ensure that the needs and interests of the residents in the south-eastern suburbs were being considered in the Council’s deliberations and decisions.

As a representative of one of the region’s most disadvantaged socioeconomic communities, it is crucial to ensure there are necessary facilities and services that make regular tasks such as completing a tax form easier and more affordable to access.

The combination of high unemployment and low levels of education and income make this even more imperative.

I am pleased council is progressing its planning for the future of the Whittington Link and how it can be improved to better serve the community, and I look forward to being able to report back to the community on this soon.

Whittington locals deserve to have a facility they can be proud of, in the same way members of other communities across the Greater Geelong region have, and I am committed to doing everything I can to see that they get it.

Please get in touch with me on 0403 821 309, or [email protected] to raise any issue, or contact Council via the city’s website (geelongaustralia.com.au), via phone (03 5272 5272), via email ([email protected]) or via the City app.

Cr Melissa Cadwell

Brownbill Ward,

City of Greater Geelong