As councillors prepare for a decisive vote on Wednesday, Michelle Gardiner writes that questions remain about funding, process and decisions made behind closed doors.
By Michelle Gardiner
LAST month the Bass Coast Post ran my investigation into how Inverloch was led down a one-way street on Surf Parade. Since then new information has come to light and decisions have been made behind closed doors.
Councillors will vote on Surf Parade on Wednesday. Here is what the public record shows.
On 29 April 2026, at the same meeting at which Brett Tessari was elected the new mayor, council approved a contract variation for the Wonthaggi to Inverloch Shared Path in closed session. Trail savings from that project are the proposed funding source for Surf Parade Stage 3B.
LAST month the Bass Coast Post ran my investigation into how Inverloch was led down a one-way street on Surf Parade. Since then new information has come to light and decisions have been made behind closed doors.
Councillors will vote on Surf Parade on Wednesday. Here is what the public record shows.
On 29 April 2026, at the same meeting at which Brett Tessari was elected the new mayor, council approved a contract variation for the Wonthaggi to Inverloch Shared Path in closed session. Trail savings from that project are the proposed funding source for Surf Parade Stage 3B.
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If the contract has been varied, the savings figure may have changed. Council officers have been unable to confirm how much funding is actually available, with figures quoted ranging from $850,000 to $1.8 million.
The draft 2026/27 budget contains no Surf Parade allocation at all. If the project cannot be funded from trail savings before 30 June it may have no confirmed funding going forward. Councillors are being asked to make a permanent decision on 17 June without a confirmed, publicly disclosed budget figure. |
How Inverloch was led down a one-way street
May 1, 2026 - Residents were only ever told half the story, writes Michelle Gardiner, but it’s not too late to get it right.
Rethinking Surf Parade
March 31, 2026 - Four locals take on the challenge. Have they cracked it? By Glenn Morris |
What the public record shows
The significant financial developments affecting this decision happened either in closed session or against a deteriorating budget position the community was not told about.
As I documented last month, the environmental excuse for not proceeding with the complete package (two-way traffic, parking and a path) does not hold up. When the council was asked for the formal documentation from the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (DEECA), the response was to direct me back to the statement on the project website: “DEECA would not approve removal of vegetation or encroachment into the coastal reserve to construct a path.”
I pointed out it was incomplete. I was told most people are happy with it. I said I was not most people. When I pushed further in writing, I was told the documentation was not available for public commentary. The full statement has since appeared on that same page without any public announcement, correction notice or explanation.
- 1 April 2026: Community submission period closes. Council receives 179 written submissions.
- 15 April 2026: The community's petition of 772 signatures received unanimously by council. Draft 2026/27 budget released the same day with no Surf Parade allocation.
- 29 April 2026: Trail contract variation approved in closed session. New mayor elected at the same meeting.
The significant financial developments affecting this decision happened either in closed session or against a deteriorating budget position the community was not told about.
As I documented last month, the environmental excuse for not proceeding with the complete package (two-way traffic, parking and a path) does not hold up. When the council was asked for the formal documentation from the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (DEECA), the response was to direct me back to the statement on the project website: “DEECA would not approve removal of vegetation or encroachment into the coastal reserve to construct a path.”
I pointed out it was incomplete. I was told most people are happy with it. I said I was not most people. When I pushed further in writing, I was told the documentation was not available for public commentary. The full statement has since appeared on that same page without any public announcement, correction notice or explanation.
As referral authority for Marine and Coastal Act consents, and based on the modelling and draft plan, DEECA would not approve removal of vegetation or encroachment into the coastal reserve to construct a path. The three options submitted by council were reviewed by DEECA and given that all these options are contained within the road reserve and therefore do not impact the adjoining foreshore reserve, DEECA does not have a preferred option. |
It now seems the environmental excuse has been quietly dropped. On the eve of the final vote the council officer's recommendation is for two-way traffic without parking, reportedly due to funding constraints.
Council's annual budget for emergency coastal works across the entire Bass Coast shire is $150,000. In 2024-25 the Inverloch works alone cost $330,000 before accounting for Silverleaves, Cowes or elsewhere. The community watched trucks cart sand around the surf lifesaving club, only to see it wash away. They had no idea it would cost this much, or that it would later be cited as the reason there is no money for parking on their own street.
What happens without parking
Without designated parking on Surf Parade, beach visitors do not disappear. Residents documented the multiple circulation routes drivers already use when parking is full: tight loops through Wave Street, circuits taking in Lohr Avenue and Ozone Street, and drivers ending up in a residential dead end court. Remove the parking entirely and the displacement gets worse.
Council's annual budget for emergency coastal works across the entire Bass Coast shire is $150,000. In 2024-25 the Inverloch works alone cost $330,000 before accounting for Silverleaves, Cowes or elsewhere. The community watched trucks cart sand around the surf lifesaving club, only to see it wash away. They had no idea it would cost this much, or that it would later be cited as the reason there is no money for parking on their own street.
What happens without parking
Without designated parking on Surf Parade, beach visitors do not disappear. Residents documented the multiple circulation routes drivers already use when parking is full: tight loops through Wave Street, circuits taking in Lohr Avenue and Ozone Street, and drivers ending up in a residential dead end court. Remove the parking entirely and the displacement gets worse.
Lohr Avenue is a narrow residential street with no footpath. The nature strips are narrow, broken by established trees and garden beds, leaving nowhere to park without partially blocking the carriageway. No sightline or intersection safety assessment has been conducted for any of the affected intersections.
Council's traffic modelling, published in April 2024, was calibrated to counts taken on the final Saturday of the summer school holidays before Term 1. The report itself acknowledged these conditions did not represent peak conditions. Bass Coast's population more than doubles in peak summer periods.
Council developed an internal hybrid design and scrapped it because it was too expensive and delivered insufficient parking. Yet the proposal now apparently being considered is two-way without any parking at all.
The community's alternative
Council has known since 2020 that the design had to stay within the road reserve. Every design attempt failed. Jim Higgs, with more than 40 years of traffic engineering experience, and Glenn Morris, a civil engineer with more than 30 years of experience, designed exactly what the community asked for.
Council's traffic modelling, published in April 2024, was calibrated to counts taken on the final Saturday of the summer school holidays before Term 1. The report itself acknowledged these conditions did not represent peak conditions. Bass Coast's population more than doubles in peak summer periods.
Council developed an internal hybrid design and scrapped it because it was too expensive and delivered insufficient parking. Yet the proposal now apparently being considered is two-way without any parking at all.
The community's alternative
Council has known since 2020 that the design had to stay within the road reserve. Every design attempt failed. Jim Higgs, with more than 40 years of traffic engineering experience, and Glenn Morris, a civil engineer with more than 30 years of experience, designed exactly what the community asked for.
Alternative road design for Surf Parade, by Glenn Morris
Their concept delivers two-way traffic, 60 designated parking bays and the shared path, all within the existing 15.24 metre road reserve. An independent Road Safety Auditor found their design standards not only acceptable but preferred over those proposed by council officers.
Their design is fully costed at $1.4 million including contingency, design and project management. Council staff could deliver the design and project management component as part of their existing roles, reducing that cost further. Council has not disclosed its own project costings and cannot confirm how much funding is available.
Traffic assessments in 2013, 2017 and 2019 all concluded one-way was not appropriate. Council voted five to four to pursue it anyway. More than 1,300 residents have petitioned across two rounds. The permanent vote is on 17 June at 1pm, Bass Coast Civic Centre, Wonthaggi. The meeting is open to the public.
Their design is fully costed at $1.4 million including contingency, design and project management. Council staff could deliver the design and project management component as part of their existing roles, reducing that cost further. Council has not disclosed its own project costings and cannot confirm how much funding is available.
Traffic assessments in 2013, 2017 and 2019 all concluded one-way was not appropriate. Council voted five to four to pursue it anyway. More than 1,300 residents have petitioned across two rounds. The permanent vote is on 17 June at 1pm, Bass Coast Civic Centre, Wonthaggi. The meeting is open to the public.
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