East Gippsland Shire Council is the talk of the local government sector after scooping the pool winning three top accolades at the2021 LGPro Awards for Excellence.

For only the second time in the 17-year history of the awards – announced last week – East Gippsland earned top gongs for Service Delivery, Sustainability, and Community Assets Projects valued over $2.5 million.

Council was also a finalist with two other projects – the Orbost Landfill Bushfire Project and Orbost Streetscape. The five finalist nominations and three award wins surpassed all other 78 Victorian councils across the 10 categories.

LGPro Victoria President Liana Thompson said it was an incredible result for the team at East Gippsland.

“It is an amazing achievement when you consider the year they’ve had with record bushfires and COVID. They are certainly setting the standard for other councils,” Ms Thompson said.

“In fact, this year’s standard of entries was incredible considering the circumstances we’ve all endured. Victorian councils are leading the way when it comes to hard work and innovation, particularly in a time of adversity and a rates cap,” Ms Thompson said.

Mayor Cr Mendy Urie said to be recognised in such away for projects and initiatives that had made a real difference to the lives of East Gippslanders was a fitting reward for effort for all involved.

“The five projects we received nominations for, and of course the three projects that received top honours, is a great snapshot of the initiatives council delivers for the community,” Cr Urie said.

“It also demonstrates the quality of planning, design, construction and delivery of what is being achieved in East Gippsland is first-class.”

Cr Urie said the Service Delivery award for the Mobile Bushfire Recovery Service, was an initiative of which Council is very proud.

“It took assistance directly to our disaster-impacted residents. It was stood up quickly and made a real difference for people in accessing a range of government and non-government services and assistance,” Cr Urie said.

The Bright Futures sustainability initiative has to date avoided 6,628 tonnes of CO2 emissions, equating a 28 per cent reduction in emissions over the past five years.

“This long-running initiative has demonstrated how energy efficiency and renewable energy can reap benefits for our community when we put in place programs that support positive change over the long-term,” Cr Urie said.

The win for the Bosworth Road Recreational Area highlighted another great environmental and community outcome.

“A first of its kind in Victoria, it has created a 16-hectare park with 2.7 kilometres of walking and bicycle trails, an off-leash dog park and the planting of more than 40,000 native trees on the site. And it saved $6 million through the phytocapping of the disused landfill in Bairnsdale!” Cr Urie said.

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East Gippsland Shire Council’s 2021 LGPro Awards projects

‍Bosworth Road Recreational Area - winner

‍Significant environmental and community outcomes were achieved and more than $6 million was saved through phytocapping the disused Bairnsdale landfill. The new park includes native tree species, walking and bike tracks, an off-leash dog park and observatory decks overlooking the nearby Ramsar-listed wetlands.

‍Bright Futures East Gippsland -winner

‍This project has been operating for multiple years leveraging federal, state and local funds to implement climate change mitigation and adaptation projects.

At the core of the program is local implementation and demonstration of how energy efficiency and renewable energy can reap the multiple benefits. To date 6,628 tonnes of CO2 equivalent corporate emissions have been avoided, representing a 28% reduction in emissions over the past five years.

‍Mobile Recovery Service - winner‍

A co-designed, community-centred initiative of Council provided an opportunity for a range of government and non-government agencies to travel together to bushfire affected areas to deliver much needed support to communities, where and when needed.

Over 10 weeks from 13 January 2020, the service travelled to 48 disaster affected communities to assist people who could not or did not want to travel away from their properties during the 2019/20 bushfire season.

‍Orbost Landfill Bushfire - finalist

‍The Orbost landfill was re-established to accept waste from over 890 properties destroyed or damaged by the 2019/20 bushfires, to facilitate an efficient clean-up process.

The re-opened site accepted44,000 tonnes of waste and the project delivered significant savings in transport cost and time, mitigated risks to the environment and public health, and expedited the clean-up. It was established in less than three weeks.

‍Orbost Streetscape Project - finalist

‍Actively seeking to transition to a desirable location for retirees, tree-changers and tourists, the rejuvenation of the Orbost town centre through streetscape improvements has been a key project for the town.

The streetscape has enhanced the character and amenity of the town. This project followed extensive community consultation and delivered a safe and attractive pedestrian-friendly and age-friendly streetscape.

LGPro is an independent, not-for-profit organisation and the leading voice and peak member association for people working at all levels in local government in Victoria. It represents all 79 councils. The organisation also provides professional development to support professionals in their work, progress their careers and to help them develop professional links across the sector.