Leader for rates group

Victorian Local Government Grants Commission chairman John Watson will be the independent leader of a Horsham Rural City Council Rates Strategy Advisory Committee.

The former Victorian Local Government head’s appointment as committee chairman won endorsement at a Horsham Rural City Council meeting on Monday night.

The appointment was the first of three key milestones in the establishment of an over-arching Horsham rating policy and rates strategy review, scheduled to be in time for a 2019-20 budget cycle.

The council expects to finalise selection of a nine-person advisory committee and a consultancy firm later this week.

Mr Watson has extensive experience in all aspects of local government administration as well as at the senior levels of the Victorian public service.

He spent 26 years in senior local government roles including shire secretary and chief executive of the former Shire of Bulla and chief executive of the Moonee Valley and Hume city councils.

This was followed by six years as governance and legislation director in Local Government Victoria and a further six years as the head of Local Government for Victoria as executive director.

Horsham council chief executive Sunil Bhalla said Mr Watson’s role was to lead the review process and engagement with the advisory committee and general community.

He said the review would produce an over-arching rates policy and a revised rates strategy.

“A key outcome is to achieve a fair and equitable distribution of the rate burden across all members of the community,” Mr Bhalla said.

“One of the drivers behind a review at this point in time has been the impact of the relative movements in valuations between different sectors of the community, which has led to changes in the level of rates across and within the various sectors.”

Several applicants

Mr Bhalla said 28 ratepayers submitted applications to join the advisory committee.

“It is envisaged that applicants will be advised of their success or otherwise before Friday. Applicants who are not successful on being selected for the committee will remain on an e-mail distribution list to keep them well informed of other opportunities that will be made available to all of the community to provide submissions into the process,” he said.

Mr Bhalla said the review process would include the development of a detailed community engagement plan.

“The engagement plan will include opportunities for the broader community to engage in the review and a range of communication tools will be used,” he said.

“Information will be provided broadly to the community of the final decision of council detailing how the decisions were made, their implications for ratepayers and the expected outcomes.”

“A key outcome is to achieve a fair and equitable distribution of the rate burden across all members of the community” – Sunil Bhalla

Tourism leaders are encouraging visitors to experience ‘life unleashed’ with ‘The Grampians Way’, the latest campaign promoting the diversity of attractions to the region’s mountain country.

The campaign hopes to inspire visitors to escape the every day – The Grampians Way – by showcasing the region’s exploration possibilities.

It is offering visitors a unique picture of the Grampians by sharing some of its lesser-known attractions, as well as highlighting its appeal as a nature-based destination.

All activities can be explored year-round, including off-peak periods.

Grampians Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman said the campaign would include seasonal relevance and highlight the region’s key attractions.

He said it would also continue to ‘disperse the visitor’, promoting the diversity of the northern, southern, western and eastern Grampians, along with the Grampians National Park.

“While the breathtaking landscapes and diverse attractions from all corners of the Grampians speak for themselves, this campaign brings them to life,” he said.

“The success of our previous marketing campaigns has set the stage for us to take the promotion of the Grampians region to the next level, continuing to grow the future of our tourism industry and the people it employs.

“It tells the stories at the heart of our region.”