2021 – Hopes and Dreams

We asked some prominent people from the community what their outlook for this year was.

 

Cr Helena Kirby

Mayor, Golden Plains Shire

As we mark the year that no one could ever have imagined, it’s remarkable to think we’ve made it to the end of 2020.

Amongst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been so many heart-warming stories of kindness, caring and support in our communities across Golden Plains Shire.

Stories of dedicated support to local businesses, connecting with elderly neighbours in isolation and sharing food with those in need.

In time of struggle, it affirms that we are stronger together and that we live in a special place in the world.

Now, as our lives are returning to normal, it’s exciting to turn the page on 2020.

Our councilor group and council staff are planning and preparing for a busy, successful 2021, serving our residents and communities.

In January, we will launch community engagement to develop the Council Plan 2021-25, and we encourage every resident to have their say on their priorities for Golden Plains over the next four years.

On behalf of the Golden Plains Shire councilors and council staff, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and that all our residents and visitors enjoy a healthy, happy New Year.

 

Cr Daniel Moloney

Mayor, City of Ballarat

My goal for 2021 is for Ballarat to bounce back better and stronger than ever.

We’ve all lived through one of the most challenging years in memory.

Many of us were separated from loved ones, and many parts of our ‘normal’ lives temporarily taken away during restrictions.

But Ballarat is perfectly placed to thrive in the COVID recovery phase.

Thanks to this year of many working from home, we now know you don’t need to work in Collins Street when you can work here in Sturt Street.

Ballarat’s unique balance of work, investment and lifestyle opportunities, plus access to top class services and education, mean more people are already making the move here.

As our city grows, council will continue to work to preserve the qualities that make Ballarat unique, and the infrastructure and services which support that.

I love how people have been adaptable this year, prepared to try different things and willing to put up with imperfect solutions in the search for a new, better normal.

Let’s all make a resolution to keep that up and think local, especially by supporting local business, in this new year.

Wishing everyone a safe, prosperous, and much, much better 2021.

 

Catherine King

Member for Ballarat

The last year has been tough, but it has taught us what is important – family, friends and community.

2021 is an exciting opportunity for us to reengage with those who matter to us, to visit friends and family and spend time doing all that we missed out on in 2020.

In the New Year, I look forward to seeing many of us get out into the community once more, to get involved with events, groups and celebrations which we may have previously taken for granted.

Over 2020 our entire community – and our entire country – went through something extraordinary together.

Through sticking together and putting the health of others above our own interests we achieved remarkable results and saved countless lives.

It is because of that collective effort that we can look forward to a better year ahead.

If we take only one thing away from the past year, I hope it is that maintain the same community spirit that got us through 2020 as we enter into whatever 2021 will bring.

I wish you and your families a safe and happy 2021!

 

Michael Poulton

CEO, Committee for Ballarat

Hope is a wonderful word, it inspires so much.  It provides insight and motivation for what is possible.

My great hope for 2021 is that together, with the collaboration our community showed through 2020, we will emerge stronger, more adaptable, more caring and with greater capacity than ever before.

In 2021 I want to see our region and our city embrace the ‘possibility’ that we demonstrated throughout 2020 and continue to re-think what we do, how we do it and how we support each other.

Let’s start by embracing renewable energy and leave a legacy for our kids that is about innovation and sustainability.  In doing so, we can address the negative impacts of climate change and fundamentally change our energy future and strive to be a renewable city.

Let’s plan for the needs of our growing city catering for active transport, recreation and open space, along with the services we know make for a well-connected and inclusive place.

A city that is thriving and prosperous caters for all and our challenge as leaders is to ensure we bring a whole of community approach to our decision making.

In doing so, we will bring to life the visions we share.

 

Michela Settle

Member for Buninyong

2020 was an unprecedented year, but it has given us time to think about what is important.

The pandemic had a real and significant impact on people’s lives, and we became more caring and supportive. We understood that our communities are strong when everyone is doing well.

People want a government that invests in its community, that looks after the vulnerable and gives everyone opportunities.

In 2021 we will see investment in health and mental health services including $540 million to upgrade Ballarat Base Hospital and $870 million to deliver all the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Mental Health intern report.

Work will start at our local schools as they go through a historic investment in their buildings and Ballarat and Golden Plains will see $95 million to build new social housing and other job creation projects.

I hope we will take advantage of the new ways of communicating such as working from home and having better access to services through telehealth or Zoom meetings, as these suit regional and rural lifestyles.

I look forward to working with our community and all levels of Government to use the lessons of 2020 to help build a better tomorrow.

 

Shane Anwyl

General Manager, Ballarat Football Netball League

I am sure many people will join me in hoping to see the back of 2020 sooner rather than later so we can focus on 2021 and how we all can get back together as a community.

Season 2020 for the Ballarat Football Netball League will be ‘the one that never happened’ and whilst we have at all times been disappointed not to be competing, there are many others in our own communities and neighbourhoods who have been doing it tough for various reasons.

That is why I am looking forward to a new dawn on the 1st of January.

One where we can have hope and optimism to start the process of getting back to what we love and spend time with those we care about.

Our sport is the glue for a lot of friends and family which allows great social inclusion for so many – so I’m looking forward to seeing many faces at the football and netball in 2021.

 

Richard Riordan

Member for Polwarth

We enter 2021 in a way we never expected and with a new understanding of how lucky we are.

We are now planning our holidays and recreation closer to home, excited about finding new and interesting places.

We have a greater appreciation of how lucky we are to be Australian, and we will look and hear stories from around the world, that will continue to remind us how great it is to be in this wonderful country.

Locally 2021 will start for us with a stronger domestic demand for our tourism offerings and a wonderful agricultural season that sees our dams full, and crops, livestock and production at record breaking levels.

Many of our country towns are experiencing mini booms as those in the large cities rethink how they live, and look to move to tree side locations.

Across the Golden Plains Shire new developments will continue to dominate our public debate. The opportunities we now have for working, education and communicating with technology at home are all new forces we now know about.

The Polwarth electorate is ideally suited to give its constituents a head start out of the year, many want to forget.

 

Jodie Gillett

CEO, Commerce Ballarat

For many in our business community the focus will be on saying goodbye to 2020!

It has been such a tough year whether you are in business, separated from family and friends, struggling with isolation, the list goes on…

If, for a few moments we ignore the difficulties, there are many positives to be acknowledged; we saw our community come together to support each other and our businesses, there was an increased understanding of the importance of local spending, and we witnessed so much courage and creativity.

Commerce Ballarat will maintain our advocacy to all levels of government and continue facilitating collaboration across business groups in regional and rural Victoria. We have so much to learn from one another.

The long-term effects of the stress of the past year on our business owners, managers and employees is yet to be fully understood.

So we are pleased to welcome a counsellor into our team through the Small Business Wellbeing Program. This will allow us to offer continued and importantly free support and assistance through the first half of the new year.

Ballarat, we should be so proud of our achievements throughout 2020.

Cheers to a New Year!

 

Juliana Addison

Member for Wendouree

The community of Ballarat is strong and resilient.

We are adaptable, innovative and have generous hearts. After a challenging year, 2021 holds so much promise for us as we continue along the road to recovery with optimism.

I am hopeful for the successful roll out of a vaccine and the gradual return to life as we knew it.

However, I also hope that we can hold onto the positive aspects that were born out of the global pandemic, including broad acceptance of more flexible work arrangements which have provided many with a better work-life balance.

I also hope that our admiration for our nurses, teachers and all essential workers continues. These people carried our community and deserve our utmost respect.

I am confident that Ballarat will bounce back stronger and better than ever before, if we support each other.

The 2020 Victorian budget was driven by the need to invest in our state to recover from the social and economic impacts of COVID. The Andrews Labor Government is investing $8 billion in regional Victoria and Ballarat will certainly benefit from this in areas of social housing, schools, tourism, digital connectivity and health care.

2021 holds so much promise and I can’t wait for it to get underway!

 

Margaret Lenan Ellis

Chair, Ballarat Interfaith Network

Our hope for the New Year is continuing civility, respect and harmony between people whose cultural and religious beliefs are different.

Hope needs to be more than a passive wish or pipedream that we expect ‘life’ to bring us.

Ballarat Interfaith Network operates with the hope of fostering understanding and harmony within the context of a diversity of faiths and spiritual outlooks.

To do this, we actively seek to build bridges of respect and goodwill, where those we encounter through our activities come to recognise and acknowledge the common human dignity and equality of all people in our community, irrespective of their beliefs, backgrounds and individual customs and values.

This is the purpose of our first event for 2021, in celebration of United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week, during the first week of February. On Monday, 1 February, the core message: Love God (or love Good) and Love your Neighbour, will be promoted through a flag raising event to be held at St Peter’s Anglican Church in Sturt St at 11am.

Here, not only Christians of various denominations, but also First Nations Peoples, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs and many others will come together united in their hope for social, political and religious harmony in 2021.

 

Louise Staley

Member for Ripon, Shadow Treasurer

The Ballarat community has weathered this year as well as any place in Victoria, which tells us much about the attitude and care the people of Ballarat have for each other.

While next year will be a year of recovery, it should also be a year of opportunity.

We have the opportunity to rebuild our lives, our businesses and our communities, to be stronger than they were before.

In and around Ballarat, I am most looking forward to the return of so many things we took for granted before this year.

Rotary meetings, local sport, amateur theatre, music recitals, kid’s ballet lessons, farmer’s markets, even something as simple as a coffee at the local café.

However, we must remember that for our communities to recover and flourish, we must meet our good intent with action.

Many of our local small businesses continue to struggle to put the pieces back together.

So please support your local small business.

Also, get involved in your local community group and make a difference.

Together as a community, we can make 2021 a wonderful year.