Doubts raised over Bass Coast Shire annual report

A CENTEPIECE of shire management each year, the presentation of the Bass Coast Shire Council’s annual report, has been thrown into doubt ahead of a momentous meeting of the council on Wednesday, October 21.

While the council vote on the application from McDonalds Australia for the development of a $3.4 million convenience restaurant in Cowes was expected to dominate proceedings at the council meeting, it may be that a developing controversy over its annual report turns out to be the headline act.

At the start of the meeting, after the Mayor Cr Brett Tessari passed on council’s concern and best wishes to the family and friends of the Federal Member for Indi, Helen Hains, after the attack outside her office in Wangaratta at 3.30pm last Monday, the council proceeded to address a record 81 questions from the community.

“I’ve got 81 questions to get through and a bucket of water to drink while I read them out,” said Cr Tessari.

A total of 28 questions related to the McDonalds application.

Approximately 60 people had filled the gallery at the meeting in the Berninneit cultural centre, many of them to hear council’s debate and decision on the McDinalds’ application.

The subjects of questions were wide, including:

* Short-stay rentals

* Why streetscape plans for Cowes CBD weren’t made public

* Auditor-General’s report missing from the annual report

* Query on about the community fundraising for the Cowes pool

* Parking capacity in Cowes

* A query over the number of penguins arriving on the beach after the application of the H5N1 bird flu vaccination

* Fixing potholes in Bass Coast shire

* Query about the round of maintenance apparently only before the MotoGP each year

* Calls for a 5.5metre roadway in Surf Parade Inverloch

* Cowes harmony bells silenced by removal of their hammers

One of the community questioners, Georgina Lyell, put to council that the Bendigo council rejected a similar application for a McDonalds restaurant to be located close to a local primary school, and rejected it. She suggested Bass Coast Council should follow suit.

The question couldn’t be answered, according to Cr Tessari, until after the matter was dealt with later in the meeting.

There were also 21 questions about the increase in the cost of the shire’s short-stay levy, calling on council to revert to the original $300 fee.

The answers to these questions will be included in the minutes from the meeting.

CEO Greg Box addressed the question about potholes saying council has a regular program of road maintenance.

With a number of Notices of Motion, including two about the Murray Street pedestrian crossing proposal and erosion at Silverleaves, as well as the McDonalds’ vote, it was sometime before the councillors turned their attention to the subject of the annual report.

Council had before it the following motion:

“That Council 1. adopts the Bass Coast Shire Council 2025-2026 Annual Report prepared in accordance with the Local Government Act 2020, and

2. Delegate to the Chief Executive Officer the ability to add the Victorian Auditor Generals Office statements into the Annual Report 2025-2026, once they are received.

But even before Item 8.2 on the agenda could be addressed, CEO Greg Box was asked a question during question time about the annual report and why it was that the Auditor-General’s audit reports were missing from the annual report.

Mr Box said this would be addressed later in the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, council watcher Graham Jolly predicted that council would have to withdraw the report and present it at a later date.

“It’s my understanding that the Auditor-General’s report must be included in the annual report adopted by council and it’s not enough for council to try to delegate it to the CEO to be included at a later date,” said Mr Jolly.

Council has a strict State Government deadline to meet in the presentation of its annual report and it will be up to the Council to explain how these deadlines will be met, in the event that there is a delay to the adoption of the report.

Cr Rochelle Halstead, who is the Liberal Candidate for Bass in the November 2026 election was an apology from the meeting. No reason for her absence was offered by Cr Jan Thompson who moved the motion to grant Cr Halstead leave of absence.