Shire endorses next year’s calendar of events

THE Surf Coast Shire council has endorsed the 13 events and causes it will be officially supporting next year.

However, what flags will be flown (if any) by the shire in 2021 has not been set, with the council seeking to gather more detail.

Councillors unanimously resolved to adopt the proposed 2021 Events Calendar at their December 8 meeting.

Every year, the council adopts a calendar of events to recognise campaigns and causes that align with the council’s objectives.

The shire categorises its events into three levels, based on their budget and the amount of the shire’s time and resources needed to hold them.

The four level 1 events, with a budget of $5,000 each, are:

• International Women’s Day on March 8
• The Rip Curl Pro civic event in March or April
• National Volunteer Week from May 17-23, and
• The Barwon Month of Action – Prevention of Violence Against Women in November.

The six level 2 events, with a budget of $2,000 each, are:

• Australia Day on January 26
• National Youth Week in April
• NAIDOC Week from July 4-11
• Seniors Festival in October
• Children’s Week in October, and
• The International Day of People with a Disability on December 3.

The three level 3 events, with a budget of $500 each, are:

• IDAHOBIT Day (the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia) on May 17
• Mental Health Awareness Week in October, and
• Fire Action Week in November.

Cr Paul Barker commended the council’s officers for putting the calendar together.

“It definitely helps a range of elements in the community celebrate various activities,” he said.

“I would encourage members of the community who feel their areas aren’t being represented to engage with the community so we get a diverse amount of support for the whole community.”

Cr Mike Bodsworth said he had the great pleasure of officiating at the recent Surf Coast Century, which brought “a fantastic energy and joy” to Anglesea.

“While we need to be choosy about the events we support, we have a great events team in the council offices who a great job of vetting events and setting out conditions to make sure they go well.”

The report to councillors notes the council has received 10 requests in recent years to fly flags in support of topics or sections of the community.

“Some requests are received for the same dates every year,” the report said.

These requests are assessed under the council’s Flag Policy (adopted in 2018 following considerable debate about the shire’s flying of the rainbow flag), but there has never been a calendar adopted to determine the topics of flags or the dates when flags are flown.

Councillors also resolved on December 8 to receive a report at a future meeting to consider a calendar to fly flags in support of causes on particular dates of significance.