Pyrenees Shire Council sent out Shaping the Pyrenees postcards to each mail box in the Shire. These were also available online and at resource centres. We received 129 returned postcards and online submissions with a range of diverse responses that reflect the diverse aspirations of our community. We are hard at work coding these responses and will share the outcomes here in coming weeks.
After receiving the report from the Community Panel, Council met to review and consider it. They had two workshops facilitiated by Liminal by Design to workshop a structure for the Council Plan in response to the Community Vision report. The decision was made to include the complete words from the community panel, and to write the Council Plan in response. Council officers then workshopped internally to flesh out priorities and initiatives that would be feasible to carry out.
Council workshopped a separate vision to the Community Vision for two reasons:
Deliberative engagement is a process which involves recruiting a representative sample of the community and giving them the opportunity to consider an issue in detail and work together to develop solutions. It is different from gathering information from community through surveys, or feedback on draft documents, as it is much more involved and collaborative, and is supported by facilitators who are expert at getting groups of people to work together. It provides a great opportunity to put citizens at the heart of our decision-making processes. The Community Panel were engaged in a deliberative engagement process facilitated by external consultants, Liminal by Design.
Advertisements were placed in newspapers, on facebook, on Council's website and in the Community Newsletter. Council officers also attended Beaufort Market when COVID restrictions permitted. People who were interested in being part of the community panel, were asked to complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) questionnaire, to provide information about themselves. Council then engaged external assistance to carry out selection of participants. Selection was:
We acknowledge the people past and present of the Wadawurung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Eastern Maar, and Wotjobaluk tribes whose land forms the Pyrenees Shire. We pay our respect to the customs, traditions and stewardship of the land by the elders and people of these tribes on whose land we meet today.