Brett Tessari, Bunurong Ward Where do you live?
Wonthaggi.
How long have you lived in Bass Coast?
All my life.
What is your previous community involvement (voluntary work or membership), either in Bass Coast or another area?
Wonthaggi Power Football Club - president of the for six years, committee member for over 10 years.
Relay for Life
Centenary of the Wonthaggi State Coal Mine.
Rotary
Have you stood for election before in local, state or federal government?
Yes, I was elected to the Bass Coast Shire Council in 2016.
Do you belong to a political party?
No.
Wonthaggi.
How long have you lived in Bass Coast?
All my life.
What is your previous community involvement (voluntary work or membership), either in Bass Coast or another area?
Wonthaggi Power Football Club - president of the for six years, committee member for over 10 years.
Relay for Life
Centenary of the Wonthaggi State Coal Mine.
Rotary
Have you stood for election before in local, state or federal government?
Yes, I was elected to the Bass Coast Shire Council in 2016.
Do you belong to a political party?
No.
Name the five local issues that you consider most important and explain how you think the council should tackle them.
Issue 1: Climate Action Plan and Coastal Erosion
Get our climate action plan together through consultation with business and community groups. Our target is zero emissions by 2030 and we have to make that achievable.
We face massive coastal erosion not only in Bunurong Ward but right across the shire. The problem is too big for any council to tackle on its own. We need to continue to advocate to state and federal governments, to press them about the urgency of the problem, and to seek for funding for mitigation and adaptation measures.
Issue 2: Balance growth and the environment
With the population of Wonthaggi expected to double over the next 30 years, we need to manage growth while protecting our precious environment. We’re planning for measured growth through the Wonthaggi North-East Precinct Plan.
The council successfully advocated to the State Government for Bass Coast to be declared a Distinctive Areas and Landscapes area. That will give us the strategies we need to guide Wonthaggi to the booming regional town it’s destined to be while maintaining our coastal and rural landscapes.
We must continue to engage with our community to determine what they value and expect from their local government.
Issue 3: Invest in Advocacy
Bass Coast Shire Council’s advocacy to the state and federal governments has brought us unbelievable success in the past four years. Early in our term, we drew up a list of what we wanted for Bass Coast: a hospital upgrade, a new campus for Wonthaggi Secondary College, a 24-health facility on Phillip Island, a university centre for Wonthaggi. We also set up an advocacy team, which didn’t exist before. Thanks to our team, we’ve ticked off so many items we have to keep rewriting our list. The investment in advocacy has paid for itself many times over. We’ve achieved things for Bass Coast we really didn’t think were possible.
But there are plenty more things on our list and it’s vital we continue to invest in advocacy.
It’s also vital that we manage our finances responsibly so we’re in a position to fund council’s contribution to major projects.
Issue 4: Upgrading Infrastructure and Facilities
When we were elected in 2016, there was a huge backlog of infrastructure and facilities needs across the shire. We now have a formal program and we’ve made serious inroads on the list, but there’s still a long way to go.
We need to utilise our advocacy team to secure state and federal funding, utilise the structure plans that are in place and continue to work with all levels of government to make sure Bass Coast stays at the front of their mind – again through advocacy.
Issue 5: Affordable and Emergency Housing
In terms of emergency and affordable housing, the situation in Bass Coast is diabolical. We need to continue to work with all forms of government to improve it. Council is working to identify surplus council and Crown sites that could be used by social agencies to build housing. Affordable housing may also need a flexible approach to planning to encourage more diverse developments.
Issue 1: Climate Action Plan and Coastal Erosion
Get our climate action plan together through consultation with business and community groups. Our target is zero emissions by 2030 and we have to make that achievable.
We face massive coastal erosion not only in Bunurong Ward but right across the shire. The problem is too big for any council to tackle on its own. We need to continue to advocate to state and federal governments, to press them about the urgency of the problem, and to seek for funding for mitigation and adaptation measures.
Issue 2: Balance growth and the environment
With the population of Wonthaggi expected to double over the next 30 years, we need to manage growth while protecting our precious environment. We’re planning for measured growth through the Wonthaggi North-East Precinct Plan.
The council successfully advocated to the State Government for Bass Coast to be declared a Distinctive Areas and Landscapes area. That will give us the strategies we need to guide Wonthaggi to the booming regional town it’s destined to be while maintaining our coastal and rural landscapes.
We must continue to engage with our community to determine what they value and expect from their local government.
Issue 3: Invest in Advocacy
Bass Coast Shire Council’s advocacy to the state and federal governments has brought us unbelievable success in the past four years. Early in our term, we drew up a list of what we wanted for Bass Coast: a hospital upgrade, a new campus for Wonthaggi Secondary College, a 24-health facility on Phillip Island, a university centre for Wonthaggi. We also set up an advocacy team, which didn’t exist before. Thanks to our team, we’ve ticked off so many items we have to keep rewriting our list. The investment in advocacy has paid for itself many times over. We’ve achieved things for Bass Coast we really didn’t think were possible.
But there are plenty more things on our list and it’s vital we continue to invest in advocacy.
It’s also vital that we manage our finances responsibly so we’re in a position to fund council’s contribution to major projects.
Issue 4: Upgrading Infrastructure and Facilities
When we were elected in 2016, there was a huge backlog of infrastructure and facilities needs across the shire. We now have a formal program and we’ve made serious inroads on the list, but there’s still a long way to go.
We need to utilise our advocacy team to secure state and federal funding, utilise the structure plans that are in place and continue to work with all levels of government to make sure Bass Coast stays at the front of their mind – again through advocacy.
Issue 5: Affordable and Emergency Housing
In terms of emergency and affordable housing, the situation in Bass Coast is diabolical. We need to continue to work with all forms of government to improve it. Council is working to identify surplus council and Crown sites that could be used by social agencies to build housing. Affordable housing may also need a flexible approach to planning to encourage more diverse developments.