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This article was published on Friday, 15 January, 2021. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

Community Engagement Policy out for feedback

The Policy has been updated to reflect a deeper level of engagement with the community with Consultative and Deliberative engagement included as part of the engagement process.

The changes to the Policy are modelled on the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation which is designed to assist with selecting the level of participation by the public for particular consultations. These processes are either consultative or deliberative and involve different levels of participation by the public.

Greater Shepparton City Council’s Deputy Mayor, Cr Rob Priestly, said “The world over citizens want better consultation by their governments. Council have revised our Community Engagement Policy. Our goal is to be better at listening to our residents. If you have ideas on how we can improve, I encourage you to make a submission on this draft policy.”

“Once adopted, this Policy commits our council to a higher standard for engagement,” Cr Priestly said.

“This policy is supported by recent changes in the Local Government Act. Residents can now be sure that Council needs to undertake deliberative engagement when preparing documents such as the Council Plan and the Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plan,” he said.

The draft Community Engagement Policy can be found here, and feedback can be provided until 29 January.