Obstacles

Throughout the year we faced several unexpected events and approached them effectively without grave reputational damage.

Tragic accident of Richard Sheridan: The death of our colleague Richard Vale was a tragic incident that had a ripple effect across the organisation This accident required ongoing support from Kayla Bonner This meant the team was down a team member for business-as-usual operations for about a month. As a result of this incident, a crisis communications plan was drafted with all of our learnings to ensure the team is prepared for the future.

Resignation of Councillor Natalie Curtis: The resignation of Cr Curtis was predicted but still required careful communication to the public. The public assumed a by-election would take place for her replacement, which was untrue. Since Cr Curtis resigned within 12 months of her final tenure year, a new councillor would be selected based on a councillor vote As a result, the PRE team kicked off a 'councillor vacancy ' campaign that ensured transparency to the community

Closure of Emerald green waste facility: Emerald's Glasson Street green waste facility was unexpectedly closed in October of 2022 due to issues identified by the Department of Environment and Science The closure has been ongoing, with no re-opening date in sight On month three of the closure, the PRE and waste team collaborated to promote and host several ' green waste pop-up collection points' to mitigate negative feedback we were hearing from the public In addition, a video to promote recycling via the 'Trash to Treasure' facility was made as a 'feel good' Christmas asset

Wet weather events/road closures: The 20222023 year saw various wet weather events happen across the central highlands. From flash flooding to ongoing road closures and heavy rainfall, our team handled a variety of campaigns to ensure the community was well-informed. During this time, our main channel of communication was the Facebook page

Facebook followers increased after each wet weather event

Survey results indicate Facebook is the preferred method of communication for wet weather events

Further investigation will be made on SMS alerts alongside the disaster management team for future events

Vandalism: Vandalism was prevalent at the start of 2023 with multiple facilities and assets being destroyed Facebook and print/online media were used to inform about vandalism and direct the public to notify council and the police There was high community engagement on these posts, many of which were positive towards council

Staff vacancies: Ongoing movement from staff members in the PRE team led to several vacancies and gaps that caused efficiency issues and stunted the team's growth To ensure we were still delivering results for our internal stakeholders, we used help from external contractors These contractors helped us to deliver project and design work

'Light Up Central Highlands' received a brand refresh for 2023. As a result, we received 35 entries and almost 2000 votes for the People's Choice Awards (a 400% increase from the year before).