Council officers decide to ignore a resolution of Council.

After printing the article in issue on Jan 25th, 2021 (Councillor good governance action plan Versus the adeministrators one), this newspaper asked Council about bringing the Good Governance Action Plan to the February Council meeting. The response from the Director Performance and Innovation informed us that Council will not be complying with that Council resolution.

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Council hoping for a change of luck in the annual Community Satisfaction Survey.

South Gippsland Shire Council is getting ready for the 2021 Community Satisfaction Survey to commence for the eleventh year running.

The yearly survey, which is distributed to a random sample of community members by independent consultant JWS Research, is one of the key ways Council checks the pulse on how it is tracking in the eyes of the community. The objectives of this research are to assess satisfaction among South Gippsland Shire residents in relation to services, facilities and other activities of Council, and provide insights into how Council can best invest its resources to improve residents’ satisfaction with its overall performance.

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Our Local Dog Whisperer

Christine Grant, a passionate, wise, caring woman, has treasured a unique connection with canines since early childhood. She adores the four-legged creatures and could not image her life without them. Born and raised in Leongatha, Christine worked as a disability support worker for many years.

In 2000, after her daughter had left home, an opportunity arose too good to refuse. Christine, her partner and two cherished Labradors headed north on a road trip to work on a small cattle property in New South Wales.

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When the coronavirus pandemic hit Australia in March 2020, the Morrison government took bold and imaginative action.

The most notable examples were its income support programs – JobKeeper, paying a A$750 weekly subsidy to employers to keep workers on the payroll, and JobSeeker, which doubled unemployment benefits relative to the Newstart allowance, frozen in real terms for nearly 30 years. These measures were announced as temporary. The government has already begun winding them back as the economy recovers from the worst impacts of the pandemic. On January 1 the JobSeeker supplement (being paid to about 1.3 million Australians) was cut from A$250 to A$150 a fortnight. It will cease in March.

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