February 2025 Council meeting recap

The following officer reports were among the items considered at a Ballarat City Council meeting on 26 February, 2025.

Creative City Report Card

Every year, the City of Ballarat measures the impact and outcomes of the application of the award-winning Creative City Strategy and Creative Precinct Masterplan (2019-2030) with the production of a Report Card.

The annual Creative City Report Card assesses the value and impact of these Creative City Strategy programs against six clear targets:

• More than 50% of Ballarat households will actively take part in at least one nominated cultural/creative program each year by 2030. Indigenous programming will be evident in at least 30% of the City’s creative and cultural events calendar by 2030.
  Achieved: The total number of local attendees of nominated cultural/creative events was equivalent of every Ballarat household (average 2.4 persons per household) attending 1.6 events. In progress: Only 16 per cent contained dedicated Indigenous programming in 2023/24.
• Increase the number of professionally employed artists and allied creatives by a factor of five between 2018 and 2030.
  In progress: The number of practitioners has increased by a factor of 2.5 since 2018.
• Triple the aggregate number of attendances at nominated events and institutions in Ballarat, from residents, between 2018 and 2030.
  Achieved: Aggregate number of attendances increased by a factor of 3.2.
• Triple the number of cultural tourism visitor nights and number of cultural tourist visitors to Ballarat between 2018 and 2030.
  In progress: Cultural nights increased 1.5 times. Cultural spend has almost doubled to $140 million per annum.
• Achieve 3,000 jobs in Creative Industries by 2030.
  In progress: Full and part time jobs have more than doubled to 2,548.
• Increase the proportion of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) qualified professionals in the Ballarat labour force from 14 per cent to 20 per cent by 2030.
  Achieved: STEAM qualified professionals have increased to 20.9 per cent of the Ballarat workforce.

Council received and noted the 2023/24 Creative City Report Card’s implementation of the Creative City Strategy and Masterplan.

Events Strategy Report Card

The City of Ballarat produces, facilitates, concierges, and invests in a significant number of events that are tailored for the local community as well as to attract visitors and generate economic benefit. 

The City of Ballarat Event Strategy 2018-2028 guides the implementation of this process. 

Council was presented with a report card on the actions from this strategy for the 2023/24 period.

Key achievements include:

• The City of Ballarat Events team coordinating and delivering all 16 Council owned events in 2023/24 including Summer Sundays, Begonia Festival, Heritage Festival and Winter Festival.
• In addition to delivering Council owned events, the events unit provide extensive concierge service to assist medium to large events such as Spilt Milk, Ballarat International Foto Biennale (BIFB) and White Night.
• The Tourism Events Grant Program was effective in facilitating seven leisure events, two business events and three sporting events.
• For the 2023/2024 period, Council owned events and those funded by Council generated an injection of $51,944,030 into the Ballarat economy. This is an increase of 24 per cent from 2022/23 and represents a return on investment of 17:01.

Council received and noted the 2023/24 Report Card for the City of Ballarat Event Strategy 2018-2028.

LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Plan Implementation Report

Council received an Implementation Report on the progress made against actions in the second year of the LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Plan 2022-2026.
Currently 9.6 per cent of the Ballarat population identify as being part of the LGBTIQA+ community. This represents 11,341 residents and ratepayers living across the city (Victorian Population Health Survey, 2017).

Of the 56 actions listed for the first two years:
•    24 have been delivered in full for the period in question.
•    9 are in progress.
•    21 are ongoing.
•    2 are yet to start.

Four priorities make up the LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Plan 2022-2026, those being Safety, Advocacy and Culture, Visibility, and Inclusion.

Notice of Motions

There were two Notice of Motions put forward by Councillors during the meeting.

1. Cr Ted Lapkin raised a Notice of Motion seeking that Council revise the Buninyong Botanic Gardens Landscape Masterplan to remove reference to Gong Dam Rehabilitation project and cease implementation of any works proposed in the Buninyong Botanic Gardens Landscape Masterplan which relates to the Gong Dam wall. 

   Cr Lapkin requested that officers provide a report to a future Council meeting presenting costed options for engaging a suitably qualified engineer to undertake a feasibility assessment of reinforcing the structural integrity of the Gong Dam Wall while preserving its existing vegetation and retaining Cornish Street as a single-lane road. 

   This was not passed.

2. Cr Jay Morrison moved a Notice of Motion asking that requests consideration be given during the development of the 2025/26 Budget to initiatives that support those Ballarat residents significantly impacted by rising costs. 

   Cr Morrison asked for a focus on initiatives that can be delivered within the existing budget funding that do not lead to cuts in services where possible and requested that these considerations be outlined in the 2025/26 budget document presented to Council.  

   This was passed unanimously.