Surf Coast Shire councillors have been appointed to a variety of advisory committees aimed at delivering initiatives that contribute to the cultural, social and economic vitality of the area.
At the 26 July council meeting, four councillors were appointed to advisory groups of the Geelong Regional Alliance (G21).
G21 aims to improve the lives of people in the region and includes representatives from business, community organisations and local government spanning five municipalities: Colac Otway, Golden Plains, Greater Geelong, Queenscliffe and the Surf Coast Shire.
Surf Coast Shire councillors participating in G21 advisory groups play an important advocacy role on behalf of their constituents to state and federal levels of government, statutory authorities and other key sector agencies.
A realignment of the advisory groups has reduced the G21 Pillars from eight to four and will be represented by the following Surf Coast Shire councillors until December 2022:
- G21 Health and Wellbeing Pillar – Cr Mike Bodsworth
- G21 Economic Development Pillar – Cr Gary Allen
- G21 Sustainability Pillar – Cr Liz Pattison
- G21 Managing Growth Advisory Group – Cr Libby Stapleton
Surf Coast Shire Deputy Mayor Cr Liz Pattison said the review of the pillars had been undertaken during the past 12 months and embraced the revised structure, which she said had created new momentum and enthusiasm.
“This will be a great opportunity to bring together many minds from local government, community groups, industry and technical experts,” Cr Pattison said.
The July council meeting also saw the appointment of Cr Mike Bodsworth to the Barwon South West Waste and Resource Recovery Forum, a group established to help support waste reduction efforts throughout the region.
On 1 July 2022 a number of regional waste and resource and recovery groups were dissolved, with the commencement of new waste authority, Recycling Victoria.
Cr Bodsworth said there had been many important insights gained from the previous groups and he was pleased to participate in the forum to continue taking a regional, collaborative approach when it came to waste management.
“We’ve got a lot that we can learn from other councils in this space and they also have a lot to learn from us,” Cr Bodsworth said.
“We are a proven high performer in the waste and resource recovery space and I’m certainly proud to represent the council on that group.”
