Weekly update - Friday 2 August, 2024

Published on 02 August 2024

INTERIM CEO

At a Special Council Meeting on Tuesday night (30 July), Councillors unanimously appointed Sally Jones as Central Goldfields Shire Interim Chief Executive Officer - commencing Monday 2 September.

This followed a thorough and competitive recruitment process.

Sally has 24 years of Local Government experience in multiple executive positions at several rural and metropolitan councils, and will oversee our Election Period and the induction of a new Council in October. We warmly welcome her to our Shire.

For further information visit:

www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au/interimCEO

COUNCIL ELECTION 2024

To be sure your vote counts in the upcoming Council Election in October, you can check your enrolment details with the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC). Those who may have changed address in recent years should confirm their details before the Victorian roll closes on 30 August.

Voting is compulsory for those over 18 years of age. You can register to vote or update your details on the VEC website, or by calling 1300 805 478.

Visit: www.enrolment.vec.vic.gov.au

Those who have property or business interests in Central Goldfields Shire but do not live within its boundaries can apply to vote here as well, by Council Enrolment. Call our Customer Service Centre on 5461 0610 during business hours for further information. For Council Enrolment in the upcoming election, the roll closes next Wednesday, 7 August.

You can also learn about standing for Council at comprehensive information sessions provided by the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV). Your next nearby session will be hosted by the City of Ballarat next Wednesday, 7 August. Registration is essential and closes Tuesday. 

Visit: www.mav.asn.au/stand-for-council-2024

NEW CITIZENS

We welcomed nine new citizens with a Citizenship Ceremony in Maryborough on Tuesday.

The nine residents from New Zealand, United Kingdom, Philippines, Canada, Ireland and China are now Australian citizens.

We offer them all congratulations and a bright future in our Shire.

RATES NOTICES 

Are your details up to date? If your address has recently changed, make sure you update it with Council. 

This ensures no delay in the delivery of your rates assessment notice, tip vouchers and other updates from us. 

You can update your details by calling our Customer Service team on 5461 0610 or visit: 

www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au/changeofaddress

HAVE YOUR SAY

Your Local Law Review

Around 90 community members have helped shape our updated Draft Local Law 2025-2035.

Under the Local Government Act, Council is required to review the Local Law every 10 years. The Local Law protects our public and private spaces and health and safety.

Based on community feedback, the Draft Local Law includes a number of changes and additions. Some of these areas relate to shopping trolleys, shipping containers, burning in open spaces, animals, camping and dogs in public places.

We are now inviting you to review the Draft Local Law to ensure it meets the needs of the community over the next 10 years.

You are invited to review the updated draft Local Law and provide feedback until 3pm, Friday 30 August. To find out more and to provide feedback visit:

www.engage.cgoldshire.vic.gov.au/yourlocallaw

Events Strategy

From sport, culture, markets and community gatherings – events bring our community together, attract visitors to our Shire and create opportunities for everyone to enjoy.

There has been a steady rise in events over recent years, and this has meant we’ve experienced an increased demand for services, support and complex compliance requirements.

To help us better support our community to host events, we’ve developed a Draft Events Strategy in line with key community and tourism priorities.

This will ensure we are more consistent in how we support events; allow us to facilitate high-quality events for our Shire and provide a clear understanding of venue options and regulatory considerations.

You are encouraged to view the Draft Events Strategy and provide feedback by 3pm next Wednesday 7 August.

Visit: www.engage.cgoldshire.vic.gov.au/events

Draft Fair Access Policy 

We recently invited community feedback on our Draft Fair Access Policy, which aims to provide a consistent framework to support women and girls, men and boys, gender diverse people and those with disability to participate in sport and physical activities.  

We thank everyone who gave us feedback, which will be collated and presented to Council along with the Draft Policy.  

Once adopted, our Recreation team will work directly with local sporting clubs and community organisations to provide education around what the Policy will mean for them.

For further information visit:

www.engage.cgoldshire.vic.gov.au/accessforall

This Girl Can 

We know physical activity and exercise leads to good health and wellbeing, that’s why we want to see as many women, girls and LGBTQI+ women being active as possible. 

To support this, we recently invited you to share your experiences so in partnership with Sports Focus, we can plan the Victorian Government’s This Girl Can campaign later this year. 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide us with valuable feedback. We will announce further details of the This Girl Can 2024 program later in the year.

CARISBROOK LEVEE

Carisbrook residents are encouraged to attend the Carisbrook Independent Levee Review Community Meeting next Tuesday, 6 August at 6pm for a 6.30pm start. The independent reviewer and engineer Fred Spain will present his findings at the meeting, to be held at the Carisbrook Senior Citizens Centre.

Light refreshments will be provided and registration is not required.

KEEPING COOL

We have been successful in securing funding through the Vic Health Leading Healthy Communities Grant Program.

We've joined thirteen other councils to explore projects about climate and health in new and emerging areas of public health planning.

Our 'Keeping Cool in the Central Goldfields' project will enable us to develop a plan to support and protect our community during heatwave events, especially more vulnerable groups such as young children, the elderly or those with disabilities.

Heatwaves are expected more frequently as the climate changes into the future.

ANIMALS AND ROADS

Our Animal Control team is reminding the community of the dangers of wandering animals – especially on rural roadsides where the speed limit is 100 km/h, and especially at night.

Livestock is attracted to lush, untouched grass around waterways and roads; more so this time of year due to low feed levels on paddocks.

The team recommends:

• Doing a ‘ride around’ to check for damaged fencing
• Ensure hard feeding is adequate
• Working with neighbours to reduce risk of escaping animals

For urgent Animal Control assistance, phone 5461 0610 during business hours, or 0407 508 448 out-of-hours.

POSITIONS VACANT

For career opportunities, please visit: 

www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au/currentvacancies 

TENDERS

Tenders currently available through Central Goldfields Shire Council are listed below.

Tender documents can be downloaded from e-Procure, accessible via Council's website www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au/tenders