Tuesday 14 September 2021 Mayor Cr Chris Meddows-Taylor

Published on 14 September 2021

Last week we held a special meeting of Council to endorse a draft ten year Community Vision and four year Council Plan for public exhibition and community comment. A long term draft Financial Plan will follow.

One of the exciting requirements in the Local Government Act, 2020, is that these three documents be developed using deliberative engagement processes.

The benefit of deliberative engagement is it enables Council to know what our residents really think and to hear from those who might not usually have their say.

Our website “Engaging Central Goldfields” has a wide range of topics which Council has sought comments on. It enables residents to easily share their views.

We are piloting Community Conversations in Carisbrook and the active discussion on some important issues has been really encouraging.

Earlier this year we had a number of community meetings on the individual Community Plans developed for our key locations.

We use a range of community committees and task forces to provide expert advice to Council such as the recently established Maryborough Aerodrome Task Force, or where we have members of our community with particular passion in key areas such as walking and cycling.

Councillors are elected to represent their community and make key decisions which is an essential aspect of their role.

Those decisions are supported by the range of community members that share their views in so many ways. Council is always listening, and with so many opportunities, no one should feel that cannot have their say.