Bernie O'Neil, A Better Eurobodalla (ABE) - 9 December 2025
Bernie O'Neil, A Better Eurobodalla, presented to Council at the Public Access Session on 9 December 2025.
Council's reply
Thank you for the time taken to voice your issues of concern to Council regarding creative arts in the shire on 9 December 2025.
We appreciate your perspective on the approach taken to develop our next Creative Arts strategy.
Our review of the strategy shows Council completed or embedded 41 out of 46 prioritised actions (90%) from the previous Creative Arts Strategy into ongoing service delivery. This included major infrastructure projects, program expansions, and new initiatives supporting creative arts across the shire. We have reported progress quarterly since the Strategy was adopted and will include a summary in the new draft document.
We are at the stage where, as you state, many things have changed since the last plan was conceived, for both Council and the arts sector we work with. We are currently consulting on what the community and arts sector is experiencing, and would like to see happening in the future. To this end we are undertaking a range of information gathering activities which will provide us with information to help determine our forward plans.
We have been heartened by the responses to our online activities, health expo stall, council advisory committees sessions, staff and community surveys and forums, resulting in over 400 people participating thus far, including your own feedback and attendance.
Our Creative Arts team is actively engaged in collaborations, and information exchange with our arts community. As part of this, I understand the Creative Arts team is supporting Arts Central with an exhibition at the Mechanics Institute in 2026.
We hope that your colleagues have provided feedback and ideas as well via the various platforms on offer to assist the development of the plan.