At the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, July 15, the Draft Council and Wellbeing Plan 2025-29 was endorsed by councillors.
Cr Rob Amos called it a “tremendous document”, and said a huge amount of work had gone into it thanks to in-depth community feedback, both formal and informal.
“I look at what’s in (the document), and what I have heard for four years — particularly this year — is reflected in there,” he said.
“It’s about revitalising our assets and our infrastructure.
“We want a community that, as Cr Zoe Cook said, is healthy, is out, is active and is a great place to live.”
In February, the council launched a broad community survey on the plan, and later formed a Citizens’ Panel of 35 residents from across the municipality.
Feedback from this two-part engagement process helped to shape the plan, which Mayor Daniel Mackrell said was a direct result of listening to the community.
“This time, we’ve brought together our Council Plan and our Health and Wellbeing Plan into a single document, which reflects our belief that wellbeing should be embedded in everything we do,” he said.
“The Citizens’ Panel and broader community input have been instrumental in shaping the priorities for the next four years.”
However, Cr Adrian Weston said the southern part of Campaspe Shire had not been adequately represented in the engagement process at this stage.
He said there were no residents from Rushworth, Girgarre, Colbinabbin and Toolleen on the Citizens’ Panel, and called for amendments to the plan.
“I think it can be strengthened, refined and made a bit more forthright in relation to empowering communities and building community capability and capacity, especially in smaller communities,” he said.
“I’d really, personally, like to see more weight given to the environmental components of what we do across Campaspe. In particular, how important our natural capital is to us.”
Cr Jessica Mitchell said the council had put a lot of time and effort into developing the plan, but was not satisfied with its current language.
She called for further community feedback to refine the plan, especially from smaller and rural parts of the region.
“It was a good start, but there is still some work to be done to get this right, and feedback from our wider community is that key ingredient,” Cr Mitchell said.
To view the Draft Council and Wellbeing Plan 2025-29 and have your say until Friday, August 22, visit campaspe.vic.gov.au/futurecampaspe
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