We regularly feature a blog by a different Mayor on how their council is making a positive difference for their community.

City of Wyndham  Mayor, Cr Adele Hegedich

Wyndham is a vibrant and diverse community on the western fringe of Melbourne. It’s one of the fastest growing cities in Australia, with a population that is expected to surpass 500,000 people by 2040.  Wyndham is a crucial link between Melbourne and Geelong. Being Mayor of this vast area, which at 542 square kilometres is more than 14 times the size of the City of Melbourne, is a constant but rewarding challenge. This is the second time I’ve been elected Mayor, and the last year has certainly thrown up more challenges than when I served as Mayor in 2015/16.

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic is something that has hit many communities throughout Australia, and ours is no exception. Throughout the first wave of virus in Victoria, the total number of cases in Wyndham remained quite low. We were not so lucky during the second wave, with 231 cases recorded in Wyndham by mid-July. This rose rapidly to a peak of 929 active cases by August 12. We have since recorded more than 2,400 cases to date, the highest number of any local government area in Australia.

Council’s immediate response to COVID-19 included coordinating an Emergency Management Team (EMT), moving the vast majority of our workforce to remote working, and establishing a Community Kitchen in one of our major events facilities. Our Community Kitchen filled the gaps left by other levels of government, providing around 33,000 meals and 13,000 hampers. This provided vital support to people in need, especially those that found themselves suddenly unable to work. Since the beginning of this pandemic we have been ready and willing to provide whatever support we can to not only our residents but also our stakeholder networks such as GPs and multicultural leaders.

With the number of COVID-19 cases once again rising in our community, Council has been working closely with the DHHS and Western Health to ensure that people have greater access to vaccines. A new drive-through clinic has been established at our local Eagle Stadium. We know that vaccinations are the only way out of this pandemic, so our focus for the next few months will be strongly fixed on assisting with the rollout.

It is vital that we use the lessons learned during this unprecedented situation to help plan for the future. We need to reflect on how we lived and worked before COVID-19 and leverage the opportunities and benefits that have come through the pandemic. Before COVID-19, 70 per cent of employed Wyndham residents left our municipality to go to work. The Victorian Health Indicators show Wyndham has a high proportion of people who commute two or more hours a day – the equivalent of four weeks a year.

Measures put in place by the State Government to limit the spread of COVID-19 – including the five-kilometre rule and the mandate to work from home – encouraged residents to drive less, walk and cycle more, shop locally and spend more time with their family using parks, trails and open spaces. It’s given us a chance to reset. Never before has there been a better time to fulfil the commitment set out in Plan Melbourne of the “20 minute neighbourhood”.

Leaving behind the City-centric employment hub in favour of a more decentralised model is an investment in the future lives of all residents. The 775-hectare East Werribee Employment Precinct – the largest undeveloped surplus land in metropolitan Melbourne – is ready-made for the type of investment that can change our way of living. Working together and sharing spaces and resources will lead to better outcomes for our employees in terms of productivity, health and wellbeing and convenience while also delivering better outcomes for our community. This approach will be complementary to commercial businesses establishing a presence and operations in Wyndham, transforming our municipality into the Capital of Melbourne’s West.

Of course, while the future of work is a major priority for our Council, we know that getting our population vaccinated as soon as possible is the only way we will recover from this pandemic. Through our work with local GPs and the DHHS, we are doing our part to ensure our diverse and rapidly growing population is vaccinated and ready to take advantage of the new opportunities we are creating.

Mayor Adele Hegedich
City of Wyndham

Previous Mayoral blogs

An archive of previous Mayoral blogs is available at Previous Mayoral blogs.