Can’t get no satisfaction from Bass Coast

DOWN in every category. That’s the response to the performance of the Bass Coast Shire Council, in the 2023 Community Satisfaction Survey, from 400 randomly selected local residents.

However, while the shire published a brief summary of results on its website in late July, it has refused to release the full survey results, until November, when it publishes its annual report.

Comparable shires in Gippsland; including South Gippsland, Baw Baw and Wellington, have all released the independent surveys in full, warts and all. But not Bass Coast.

Avid council watcher, Graham Jolly, smells a rat and after contacting his local council representatives, he’s urged the Victorian Council Watch Vice President Dean Hurlston to intervene.

“I notified Council Watch and they’ve written to council with no effect. They’re now quoting the Local Government Act to them, so we’ll see where that lands,” Mr Jolly said.

“It’s very limited what they’ve provided and they’re hiding the detail behind it. Why?”

The councillors have not even been briefed about the annual satisfaction survey, so whose decision is it to hold back the report when other like-councils in Gippsland have already released theirs? We put the question to council:

“Each year Council approaches the satisfaction survey in the same manner. The summary report is released at this time and the full results are released in November. Council considers the results as part of a wider collection of data and direct engagement to determine how Council is performing.”

It has been reported that the Mayor Cr Michael Whelan was approached by council members to release the report but has so far declined to intervene.

Cr Whelan is believed to be seeking re-election to the $102,650 annual allowance role as mayor in mid-November with the satisfaction survey results not coming out until after that.

Community response reveals lower satisfaction on the issues of ‘Overall Performance’ down from 57 to 54, ‘Overall Direction of Council’ down from 47 to 44 and ‘Community Decisions’, reflecting the level of genuine community engagement and consultation, down from 53 to 48 in the 2023 survey.