Campaign 2020 Category
Remembering those doing it tough
Posted on October 15, 2020

Is there anything that council can do about poverty? Or is this one of those areas that must be tackled by state and federal governments? Certainly, there are some actions that can only be taken by higher levels of government, such as raising the Jobseeker rate or supplying more public housing. But councils can, and must, do something about poverty.
Conserving our Natural Heritage – What is Council’s Role?
Posted on October 5, 2020

What role should council play in environmental action? Some say that council, being a very small player in the global scene, should not try to achieve environmental goals such as carbon emission reductions. Or, that council should simply focus on “basics” like roads, rates and rubbish. However, I believe that we need to be stewards […]
Bendigo Council should “Love Your Local”
Posted on September 21, 2020

Recently, the City of Greater Bendigo launched the ‘Love Your Local’ campaign to encourage us to buy local in order to help small businesses recover from the economic effects of Covid-19 restrictions. So we should. But it’s time for the council to practice what it preaches.
Bring Back Whipstick Ward Meetings
Posted on September 8, 2020

Bureaucracies get pre-occupied with internal aims, and this distracts from listening to those outside the bureaucracy.
Local councillors play an essential part in getting residents’ voices heard in local government. They should be continually providing ways for residents to give their views on what council could be doing, or what it could be doing differently.