A focus on hearing from the City of Whittlesea’s diverse community has been embedded into council’s updated Community Engagement Policy 2023-2027.
Endorsed at the December council meeting, the policy is an update to the A Voice for All: Community Engagement Policy 2021.
The policy highlights council’s commitment to engagement as well as highlighting policy focus areas including further developing consultation practices with under-represented cohorts and continuing to evolve council’s journey towards more deliberative practices.
City of Whittlesea chair administrator Lydia Wilson said the updated policy would back the continued development of council’s community engagement ahead of the Local Government Act 2020 VIC.
“We are committed to providing genuine and meaningful community engagement and hearing from the voices of our community on projects, plans and activities that impact them,” she said.
“This policy provides the framework for us to grow and develop this important function of council.”
Ms Wilson said community engagement was crucial for good governance.
“Ensuring our community have the opportunity to have their say and that council considers this as part of its decision-making means that we can remain transparent and informed in the decisions we make on behalf of community,” she said.
“We are a diverse community, and we need to ensure that we are hearing from a diverse range of people from different age groups, different abilities and different cultural backgrounds to make sure our engagement is representative of our community.
“We also want to embed more deliberative practices which means ensuring people have the time and information they need to provide meaningful, in-depth feedback.”
The final policy was adopted following community consultation, which included community-based pop-ups at different locations including citizenship ceremonies, festivals and events, libraries and community centres and an online survey.
Consultation also took place with key stakeholder groups.
To view the Community Engagement Policy 2023-2027, visit www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au or engage.whittlesea.vic.gov.au.