Bayside City Council

On Monday night we celebrated the start of NAIDOC Week with a community screening of Warwick Thornton's movie, ‘Sweet Country’. Over 150 Baysiders showed their support for NAIDOC Week by filling the theatre at Palace Cinemas in North Brighton, making the evening a great success. The event commenced with a moving Welcome to Country and Yidiki Ceremony with Uncle Mark Brown from Bunurong Land Council. The audience also enjoyed a pre-film yarn with Josh and Alice from Bayside’s Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee. National NAIDOC Week - 7 to 14 July 2024 - celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. The 2024 theme is ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’. The relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non‑Indigenous Australians needs to be based on justice, equity, and the proper recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights. #NAIDOCWeek

We're working alongside Bayside cafes, restaurants and mobile businesses to uphold public safety. 🍽️ Last year, our dedicated Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) inspected all 773 registered food premises and 300 mobile food businesses in Bayside, conducting a total of 1604 unannounced inspections to ensure compliance with standards. These visits guarantee that business ownership registrations are current and that all legislation requirements related to selling food are being followed. ✅ Read more: https://brnw.ch/21wL0nq #FoodSafety #BaysideCommunity #PublicHealth #SafeDining [Image description: A Bayside Local Laws officer visitng a cosy cafe.]

Last financial year, we provided essential assistance to 3,215 community members, empowering them to live independently and safely in their homes. 🏡✨ Our dedicated team worked tirelessly to deliver support where it was needed most, ensuring that each individual received the care and resources they deserved. Here's to making a difference, one home at a time💖🙌 What do you think Council should focus on and deliver over the next four years? Have your say at Future plans: https://brnw.ch/21wKWr7 #FuturePlans #CommunitySupport #HomeCare #MakingADifference #IndependentLiving [Image description: A Bayside Care Worker sitting outside with a smiling client.]

We’re upgrading shark barriers at the iconic Middle Brighton Sea Baths 🦈 Suitable organisations are invited to submit an Expression of Interest for the Head Contractor renewal works which will help to ensure continued community protection in the water. If you think this exciting opportunity is for your company, visit our portal below to view the tender documents and respond to this tender. #SharkBarriers #MarineContractor [Image description: Aerial view of Middle Brighton Sea Baths and Bayside's beautiful coastline with an illustrated arrow pointing to the edge of the sea baths.]

We're currently planting at Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve's Wildflower Meadow, and we've captured some of the action on drone 🌻📽️ The Wildflower Meadow incorporates more than 18 wildflower and 20 indigenous grassland species. The design concept creates a network of meandering paths, welcoming visitors to explore and discover the unique attributes of the various species. Find out more on Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve: https://brnw.ch/21wKp9a #YWNR #OpenSpace

Our Library team was pleased to host Bayside Mayor, Cr Fiona Stitfold and Ryan Batchelor, Member for Southern Metropolitan Melbourne at Beaumaris Library last week to showcase the range of resources, programs and events on offer at a contemporary library service. Last year, Bayside Libraries received more than 367,000 visits from 44,300 individual active members. We are continually evolving the range of services we offer to the community – from early literacy programs to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Maths), social connection programs, support for extended study hours and our newest innovation – the Library of Things. The way we provide services is also changing to accommodate changing community needs - with the Hampton Library Branch Out program of extended access, Hurlingham Park Library Lockers and Home Library Service. State Government funding has not evolved to keep up with operational or infrastructure costs and Bayside has joined libraries across the state to advocate for library funding in line with the cost of offering services. #LibrariesChangeLives #PLV [Image description: Ryan Batchelor, Bayside Mayor, Cr Fiona Stitfold plus three Bayside library staff standing in a bright Beaumaris Library.]

Bayside is committed to reconciliation and we were fortunate to hear Aunty Katrina Amon from St Kilda Football Club in conversation at a ‘Point and Be Proud' Reconciliation Week event for staff. Inspired by Nick Winmar’s inspiring stand against racism in 1993, Point and Be Proud is a program that aims to educate the community about the ongoing impacts of racism on Indigenous mental health and wellbeing. Incorporating ‘The Ripple Effect’ documentary as part of the session, this program explores the repercussions of racism through the lens of some of the nation’s most prominent Indigenous athletes and provided us an insight into everyday aspects of First Nations culture in the workplace, home, and social settings. Aunty Katrina is a member of the Bayside Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee, assisting in the implementation of our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan. #ReconcilationWeek #PointAndBeProud #NRW2024 [Image descriptions: 1: Three staff members, standing with Aunty Katrina who is wearing a St Kilda Indigenous footy scarf. 2: A meeting room with staff members watching a presentation.]

We have joined the effort to transform the way cans, cartons and bottles are recycled while rewarding those who make a deposit at the Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre station in Cheltenham ♻️ The new Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) provides a 10 cent refund for eligible single-use aluminium, glass, plastic and liquid paperboard (carton) drink containers between 150ml and 3 litres. Bayside residents can even donate their earnings to a charity or not for profit. It’s easy to participate in the CDS by using the drive-in refund point at the Bayside Waste and Recycling Centre, 144 Talinga Road, Cheltenham, which is being transformed into a state-of-the-art facility ✨ Find out more: https://lnkd.in/gK4AT4hv #Recycle #CashForContainers #Waste #ContainerDepositScheme #Sustainability

CHATISFACTION We were excited to share the news about our new AI-powered virtual assistant at The Customer Show Australia last week. It's an extension of our recently launched live chat tool on the website, which has already received an impressive 95% customer satisfaction rating. BayBot has been developed in collaboration with Powerfront and, to our knowledge, is the first Australian government virtual assistant to use a Large Language Model (GPT etc.) to directly handle customer queries. And the really great part is that it is designed to address the number one challenge our customers experience when using our website: navigation. Given we deliver 100+ services, we understand that finding what you need can be difficult. Our upgraded virtual assistant helps address this by comprehending and responding to questions in a chat format based on information on our website and includes any relevant links. We'd love you to give it a try by visiting bayside.vic.gov.au. If you have any questions or feedback, you can contact our Customer Experience Project Lead, Tim Clement. #CustomerExperience

Bayside Mayor, Cr Fiona Stitfold today hosted Ryan Batchelor MP, Member for Southern Metropolitan Region, on a walking visit of the Cheltenham Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) precinct accompanied by Ward Councillors Cr Laurence Evans OAM and Cr Sonia Castelli with Derek Screen, representing the Pennydale Residents Action Group and Doug Klein, representing Highett Progress Association. Changes proposed in the SRL Key Precinct Directions could have a significant impact on these two communities and Bayside more broadly. To find out more on the SRL Key Precinct Directions including proposed increases to height limits, impacts on open space and increased traffic, visit SRL online and have your say here https://brnw.ch/21wJRsg or drop in to the SRL pop up at Cheltenham Library on Tuesday 21 May 2024, 4:30 to 7:30pm https://brnw.ch/21wJRsf [Image descriptions: 1, Mayor, Cr Fiona Stitfold, Ryan Batchelor MP, Cr Laurence Evans OAM, Cr Sonia Castelli, Derek Screen and Doug Klein, standing beside a leafy garden bush and brick wall. 2, the group mid conversation.]