Message from the Mayor

This year challenged all of us yet brought out the very best in us. Resilience and kindness became part of our human response to a pandemic for which none of us were prepared.

COVID-19 presented Council and our community with sporadic lockdowns and disruptions to our services, revenue streams, operations, economic development and social connections. It was and still is one of the most demanding times in history.

Highlights

Our achievements during the year involved extraordinary collaboration across the entire community and included a comprehensive response to the impacts of the pandemic.

Council introduced a $47 million Economic and Social Recovery Plan, to be rolled out in three phrases. In this reporting period, phase two, Revival saw more than $543,000 in grants provided to local businesses, creative industries and community groups. Council is continuing to work through the Plan.

During the lockdowns, we used the Australian Business Register to communicate with and provide targeted support to local businesses. We worked to address both immediate and future needs while complementing the various NSW and Australian government initiatives.

From this work, we’ve forged partnerships with local business that will benefit the community and local enterprise for years to come.

Like many other councils, we adopted and embraced new ways of working to evolve our service delivery to be COVID-19 safe, seamless and continuous.

Our diverse range of community programs and cultural events in new formats kept the community safe and connected. Some activities were scaled down, adapted and then developed into an improved and sustainable format.

We held 53 events, attracting more than 36,000 people either in person or online. This is such an amazing outcome, reflecting Council’s agility, resilience and strong community connections.

First in the series of COVID-19 safe events was Be Kind 2 Your Mind – a series of online webinars that provided a platform for all ages, from pre-schoolers to senior citizens, to understand how to respond to the effect of COVID-19 on mental health individually, and as a community.

The success of our inaugural In Good Taste, It’s a Mood and Un[contained] Arts Festival flagship events mean we can now continue to bring colour to our cultural calendar. These smaller events across our community gave people opportunities to connect in a smaller and safer way.

Our libraries and our museum and gallery adapted to online digital programs, with eLibrary, rhyme time and book clubs presented online.

Children’s Services developed remote learning and takehome resources for children and families, enabling them to continue their learning journey during lockdowns.

It has taken sheer determination to continue our strategic planning, maintain financial stability and continue to build on our sustainable and innovative future.

With a strong and ambitious vision for the future, we have reduced the median processing times for development applications (DAs) to 88 days despite the increase in the value of approved works to $713 million (up by $215 million from 2019/20) and delivered $50 million of capital and infrastructure works.

The Inclusive Housing Strategy and Delivery Program and Local Housing Strategy set us a clear plan for the delivery of diverse housing in the LGA over the next 20 years.

The Affordable Housing Policy set new affordable housing targets that will help increase the range and supply of reasonably priced housing in the LGA for very low to moderate income households and the broader residential market, including first home buyers.

The completion of the Georges River Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2021 will provide for additional homes close to where people work, and close to the restaurants and open space that people enjoy, attracting more investment, increase the number of local jobs and keeping the economy moving.

Environment and sustainability remain a major focus. We secured funding to plant 1,000 new trees in streets and parks, boosting the tree canopy. Our successful Bushcare Volunteer Program, despite facing a challenging year, welcomed 25 new members and contributed nearly 4,000 hours to restoring and preserving areas of the local bushland. The program planted 2,300 native plants throughout the year, including more than 350 trees.

Recognition

Despite the challenges of the year, Georges River Council won several awards and was recognised for its work across a diverse range of activities, including:

• Australasian Reporting Awards • Local Government Excellence Awards • Best Planning Ideas – NSW Awards for Planning

Excellence • Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) NSW

Awards for Planning Excellence, including our

Director Environment and Planning Meryl Bishop receiving a commendation in the Planner of the

Year category. • Keep Australia Beautiful NSW’s Sustainable Cities

Award • Cities Power Partnership Climate Awards 2020 • Local Government NSW Excellence in the

Environment Awards 2020 • Museums and Galleries National Awards • National recognition of South Hurstville

Kindergarten for providing high quality children’s health care These achievements are the result of the dedication and hard work of our staff and the clear vision and leadership of the General Manager.

As we celebrate the fifth anniversary of Georges River Council’s establishment, I thank the Councillors, the General Manager, Council staff and most importantly the Georges River community for what we have been able to achieve.

Kevin Greene Mayor