Profile: Mike Bodsworth

LOCAL PROFILE: MIKE BODSWORTH Empowering Local Communities

By Jenna Crawford On day trips from his childhood home on the Bellarine Peninsula, down the Great Ocean Road to Lorne, Mike Bodsworth became endeared to Point Roadknight.

Its natural beauty intrigued him, but to his frustration the family car always continued further down the coast. Finally, 15 years ago, after studying in Melbourne and spending many years living in Western Australia and France, he had an opportunity to settle here.

Mike is a landscape architect, but it was a job as a project manager with the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee that enabled him to fulfill his old desire to become a Point Roadknight local.

He saw the job advertised while living with Isabelle in Paris, applied and got it after a long-distance phone interview. The job, based in Torquay, saw him managing many different projects, some of those were devoted to conservation and volunteering, visitor facilities, signs and interpretive facilities, Aboriginal-heritage conservation and land-use planning.

The big move from Paris to Anglesea to raise a family with Isabelle has posed challenges, particularly staying connected to faraway family and friends, but it’s a move they’ve never regretted.

Now Mike’s a “home dad”, as well as a Surf Coast Shire Councillor, sharing home and parenting duties with Isabelle who operates her own business. The couple feel very fortunate to be able to raise their two children in Anglesea.

I asked Mike to nominate the skills one should have to succeed as a Councillor. He said one needs to be a good listener and be open minded. One had to have sufficient time to commit to the community, and be aware of the dilemmas between development and growth and the need to preserve the uniqueness of towns like Anglesea and Aireys Inlet.

“Surf Coast councillors have a responsibility not just to locals, but also to visitors who are counting on us to look after the place for them too – and for future generations,” he said.

He sees the area’s school camps as a great example, offering unforgettable experiences of nature and the outdoors for tens of thousands of young people each year and providing a stable source of economic activity. He says if development jeopardises that unspoiled character, it jeopardises our economy and identity too.

“I think most people love Anglesea because of, not despite, the lack of big tourist attractions and commercialisation,” he said.

Mike finds it very worthwhile being part of a small, tightly connected community. His concerns about the prospect of overdevelopment led to his initial involvement in the establishment of the Save Anglesea group. He is insistent that development should respect local community preferences and align with the Anglesea and Aireys Inlet Structure Plans.

The A nglesea Futures plan developed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) for future uses of Alcoa land is of concern to Mike. He thinks that a major tourist attraction like the Eden Project, plus other associated commercial and tourism developments, might offer benefits through jobs and economic growth, but also poses risks to Anglesea and the district’s unspoiled character, which he believes hasn’t yet been properly explored.

He’s upset that community concerns about those risks may be ignored and overridden by high level decisionmakers. He hopes we can look back in 20 years and feel proud of what we preserved, suggesting instead of changing the place to suit development plans, how about we change the plans to fit the place?

Mike has been very involved in the Anglesea Bike Park since its creation in 2006. One hectare of land was leased from Alcoa to develop this park, which is used by locals of all ages, visitors and international tourists. It is managed by a committee of volunteers overseen by Surf Coast Shire Council, and Mike has been part of a six-year campaign to save the site from development. A petition was signed by 6,500 people to retain the bike park in its present location. “I’m dismayed that, despite such a clear, consistent and passionate community campaign and an offer from Council to buy the site, Alcoa still wants the bike park removed,” he said.

Mike is very aware of the major issues facing Anglesea. He sees these as being: i) The future use of Alcoa freehold land.

ii) The impacts of climate change on wildfire risks, fuel reduction processes, sandy shorelines, dunes

Councillor Mike Bodsworth and flood zones, landslide risks, the health of the Anglesea River and native vegetation.

iii) Planning for tourism, where he thinks strategic planning for the region has focused too much on increasing tourism yield and not enough on what’s best for the place and its people in the long term. iv) The character of local towns and the role of planning, architecture and landscape management. v) Changing demographics, including housing occupation and vacancy rates, housing affordability, the availability of rental properties, the boom in working from home and home-based businesses and the district’s appeal to new families. Mike’s key priorities in his role as a Surf Coast Shire Councillor are to make sure the Anglesea and Aireys Inlet districts are looked after, and to ensure local communities are empowered to shape the future of the places they love.

Mike is inspired by the contributions people in our communities are making to looking after others, organisations and the natural environment.

He invites people to contact him about local issues that matter to them, via email or phone: mbodsworth@surfcoast.vic.gov.au 0427 337 558