Apollo Bay

Voice News

Interim Committee for Apollo Bay - Report # 2

Dear residents, ratepayers and all those with long-term connection to the area.

The Interim Committee held its second meeting on Wednesday May 31 at Marrar Woorn. Again, the meeting spanned more than 3 hours and the robust contest of ideas was on full display. Richard and Peter Collopy joined us at the beginning of our meeting, which commenced with an Acknowledgement of all our ancestors. We discussed how the Committee would work most productively with the Gadubanud Traditional Owner families and how they would be recognised in our constitution. It was both a productive and fascinating discussion around history and geography. The Committee learned a great deal and our understanding of how the relationship could evolve increased significantly and inclusively. We were given permission to use “On Gadubanud Country” as part of the logo which will be developed once we have a name.

Votes are coming in online and by paper on the name of the group. Voting closes next Wednesday June 7 at 5pm. We will be able to announce the name which the community has selected on Thursday June 8, after all the votes have been tallied. We strongly urge everyone to have their say using the apollobayvoice(at)gmail.com address or, if you are not on-line, to make a paper vote. Voting boxes have been placed at the hardware store, the bakery, the post office and the information centre.

A draft constitution was presented to the Committee and it has largely been agreed. One of the things that the law requires is that we hold an AGM to elect the officers of the community group once it’s formally constituted. However, only members of that community group can vote. This means that we have a couple of very important tasks ahead of us. Firstly we want you to think about nominating for the Committee or encouraging someone you know who you believe could add depth of understanding on a range of the issues which affect the community and add fresh perspectives on how we can best tackle problems. Secondly, we need you to join the formally constituted group. There is no membership fee. We will be sending out forms (of the tick the box variety) to the email list we have and make paper membership applications available in our shopping precinct and at the AGM itself. We will send out more details on this over coming weeks. We are looking to hold the AGM in the last week of July.

Another important area we discussed was Committee members holding a portfolio. This was raised at the April community meeting. We believe that having a portfolio encourages individual Committee members to actively consult with the groups, businesses and individuals covered by the portfolio and provides the community with an easily identifiable point of contact should they wish the Committee to address a particular issue. Once finalised, we will advise you of the portfolio areas.

There has been a huge power of work going on over the last two weeks. I would like to thank all members of the Committee for their contributions but would particularly acknowledge Jane Gross, Graham Hill and Pamela Carey for their many, many hours of thought work on behalf of the community.

Let us know if you found this communication useful via email at apollobayvoice(at)gmail.com or in person.

Best wishes to you all and keep warm!

Nikki Williams, Chairman of the interim Committee

For more information please email apollobayvoice(at)gmail.com.