Annual Report Summary 2021/2022

The long-anticipated Gippsland Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) made its debut in March 2022.  

The $42.1 million facility was officially opened by Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester, Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas and Latrobe City Mayor Kellie O’Callaghan.  

Latrobe City rolled out the red carpet in style with a four-day grand opening gala featuring: electronic indie-pop sensation Client Liaison, a comedy night headlined by some of Australia’s favourite comedians, local performances, community workshops and other activities.  

Gippslanders and visitors alike now have the chance to explore the state-of-the-art facility including a 750-seat auditorium, indoor and outdoor amphitheatre event spaces, box office, café precinct, conference rooms and much more. 

“The Gippsland Performing Arts Centre has long been a community aspiration as a priority piece of infrastructure to support the growth of our local arts and creative offerings,” Cr Kellie O’Callaghan said. 

“Beyond bringing the stars of the stage to our doorstep, the new centre is a home for the local creative community and provides a forum for connection, wellbeing and collaboration.”  

Delivered by Becon Constructions, with a supporting cast of local contractors and tradespeople, GPAC has all the elements to support productions from major international performances through to local community use.  

Latrobe City Director Creative Arts Bec Cole said the inclusion of features such as a fully-fledged fly tower meant the sky was the limit for prospective shows. 

“A fly tower allows for a backdrop to come in and out which means we can stage the kinds of productions that need a full scale, full-sized production. It opens up the opportunity for people across Gippsland to see a range of programs a bit closer to home,” Ms Cole said.  

GPAC has a range of accessibility features and will incorporate the Latrobe City Visitor Information Centre. 

The $42.1 million project was funded by the Federal Government’s Community Development Grants Programme ($10 million), the Victorian Government’s Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund ($12 million) and Latrobe City Council. 

 

Australian Football League (AFL) legend and anti-racism campaigner, Eddie Betts, met with hundreds of Latrobe City children as part of the ‘Stay Local’ June school holiday activities.  

Retiring at the end of his 350-game career in 2021, Eddie has written two children’s books MY KIND and MY PEOPLE aimed to motivate and inspire literacy and learning in children. 

“I have always wanted to write a children’s book because I wanted kids to read at a young age. I wanted kids to see themselves in that book and I wanted it to be diverse as well,” said Eddie. 

When Eddie entered the AFL at 17 years of age, he was unable to read or write and knows the challenges and disadvantage this can cause young people. 

“I couldn’t read properly until I was 18, 19 and that was probably one of the biggest regrets that I have had is not really going to school,” he said.  

The books also share important messages about aboriginal culture, community and resilience. Eddie read from the latest, MY PEOPLE, where he spoke about the importance of Aboriginal culture. 

“The reason that I wrote that is that I kept getting racially abused when I played footy, and I have always wanted to educate young kids and I was trying to figure out how I could do that.” 

The event was hosted by Latrobe City Libraries who may not be renowned for their standing in the local sporting arena, but are experts in delivering events that kick literacy, learning and social goals.  

Gippsland Performing Arts Centre was home to the Lost Dogs’ Disco, a large-scale illuminated inflatable sculpture in late June 2022.  

Hosted by Latrobe City Council with funding from the Victorian Government’s COVIDSafe Outdoor Activation Fund, the Lost Dogs’ Disco delivered an immersive experience throughout the outdoor area.  

A full program of fun was on offer alongside the sculpture installation, with late night sessions including live music, a bar and DJs across the ten-day festival. 

Special activities for kids and families coincided with the winter school holidays, including disco dance parties, art sessions and even dog fortune telling hosted by Latrobe Libraries. 

Latrobe City Council Mayor Kellie O’Callaghan said the event was a highlight for the community after two challenging years. 

“The Lost Dogs’ Disco was unlike anything we’ve ever seen before in Latrobe City, bringing art and entertainment to our community to brighten up the cold Gippsland winter days and nights,” Cr O’Callaghan said.  

“This family and dog-friendly event brought a range of free and accessible activities for everyone to enjoy across the ten-day festival.”  

The Lost Dogs’ Disco is a temporary sculpture that celebrates the place of dogs in our lives. Visitors journey through an immersive installation of 16 dogs, some up to 5.5m tall: all in various states of repose – curled-up, standing, even touching noses.  

As visitors’ journey through the happy pack, the dogs’ coats light up and they greet passers-by with happy grunts to celebrate each new person’s arrival; for the Lost Dog’s Disco is a hallowed place for dogs and every newcomer to the disco is greeted as a fellow disco dog. 

The four distinct characters are inspired by three dog breeds: Poodles, Bull Terriers and Dachshunds.  

The music of the Lost Dogs Disco is an experience in and of itself. With a custom sound design by ENESS, the electronic music captures the pathos and beauty of a dog’s life and includes a chorus of barks, growls, howls and all kinds of doggie hullaballoo. 

Further enhancing the health and wellbeing of all Latrobe City residents is the focus of Council’s Living Well Latrobe Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plan.  

Formally adopted by Council in March 2022, the plan identifies four priority areas for health and wellbeing based on extensive community engagement, discussions with external health partners and analysis of local health data.  

Latrobe City Council Mayor Kellie O’Callaghan said Living Well Latrobe represents the community’s desire to live healthy lives in a safe, diverse and resilient community. 

“In developing this plan, we have listened to the aspirations of our community, reviewed what the health and wellbeing data tells us and engaged with our partner agencies and stakeholders. This plan is a culmination of that engagement, as well as a continuation of the ongoing work of our community to improve our health and wellbeing. 

“Our community has many strengths. We are rightfully proud of our strong and connected community and natural and built assets. This plan seeks to highlight how we can build on our strengths and the great work that is already happening to enhance health and wellbeing. We do not start this work from a blank canvas. We have existing programs, partnerships and participation that build on the work of this plan. 

“We acknowledge the role of our partners in supporting our community’s health and wellbeing. Community groups, service providers, community organisations and all levels of government play an important part in our community. 

“What we have heard loud and clear is that our community wants and deserves programs and services that are affordable, accessible and inclusive. Affordable because cost should not be a barrier to good health and wellbeing. Accessible because we each have individual needs that impact our access to programs and services. Inclusive because we are a diverse community that is stronger together. 

“The plan highlights that some groups in our diverse community face particular challenges to good health and wellbeing. As we deliver on this plan, we are committed to focusing on health equity and inclusion. We also acknowledge the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of storms, floods and fires on our community. 

“By listening to each other and working together, I am confident that through this plan we will improve the health and wellbeing of our community. I encourage you to join us on this journey,” said Cr O’Callaghan. 

Increasing safety, active recreation opportunities, community resilience and connection with our environment were identified as the priority areas.  

Improving fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity and mental health were key ‘healthy and active’ themes, building on Latrobe City’s high participation rate in organised sport compared to Melbourne.  

In terms of resilience and support there was a focus on increasing: secondary and tertiary education rates, digital connectivity with almost 20 per cent of households currently without internet, job opportunities and support for groups at risk of poor health in the face of climate change and warmer weather, More walking and cycling paths and fostering a stronger connection between people and their natural and built environments were identified also identified as priorities.  

We also remain committed to our community’s safety priorities and we remain focused on continuing our partnership work with our partner safety focused agencies and our community.  

Council surveyed close to 1,500 community members as part of the engagement process and conducted co-design workshops to incorporate the perspective of local children and adolescents.  

Council will implement a range of initiatives to address the priority areas and monitor the outcomes. 

Latrobe City Council celebrated Main Streets of Australia Week during May, which focused on encouraging the community to support small businesses by shopping local.  

A national campaign Main Streets of Australia shines a light on the significant contribution that small businesses have on the fabric of their communities.  

Council collaborated with local commercial radio station TRFM's street team to bring colour and life to the main streets of the municipality’s large towns - Churchill, Moe, Morwell and Traralgon, with kids’ activities and roving live local performers keeping shoppers entertained. 

“Main Streets of Australia Week is an important reminder to us all to support businesses in our own backyard. Even before the impacts of COVID, our local businesses have faced competition from online shopping and larger retailers,” said Latrobe City Council Mayor Kellie O’Callaghan. 

“What many don’t realise, however, is the enormous amount main streets and town centres bring to both the community and the nation as a whole. It is for this reason we need to ensure the success and survival of these precincts across Latrobe City. 

“These businesses are the lifeblood of our community, collectively providing a huge number of jobs, especially to those that rely on local or flexible work, supporting local sporting groups and schools as well as building connections and providing safe spaces,” said Cr O’Callaghan.  

As part of the celebrations, Council provided the community with an opportunity to share in $2,000 worth of Latrobe City Gift cards. Shoppers simply needed to make a purchase at participating businesses across Latrobe City and fill out the entry form.  

The week-long celebration was coordinated by Mainstreet Australia, an organisation that works tirelessly to support our main streets and town centres, in partnership with Mainstreet SA and Town Team Movement, and with the support of Zeller as major sponsors. 

Latrobe City started the year in style with a baker’s dozen of big events bringing in significant visitation and tourism dollars throughout the municipality. 

 A suite of major infrastructure upgrades was showcased across an eclectic mix of sporting and community events, highlighting the benefits of recent multimillion-dollar investments from all levels of government. 

The upgraded Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (GRISS) was in the spotlight with a near capacity 2,634 crowd on hand for the in-season NBL showdown between SEM Phoenix and Cairns Taipans. 

In February a further 500 people packed the GRISS to watch the Melbourne Boomers play the Perth Lynx in an entertaining WNBL fixture, while 1,500 attended the Melbourne Vixens versus Adelaide Thunderbirds Super Netball double feature.  

The sporting smorgasbord also included a special six-term AFL pre-season clash between Collingwood and Hawthorn in front of 4,500 fans at the new and improved Morwell Recreation Reserve.  

January’s ATP Challenger, ITF women’s and ITF Junior tennis events at the recently upgraded Traralgon Tennis Centre brought in more than $3 million in estimated economic impact, including substantial bed nights and local spending from athletes and their entourages.  

“The quality and quantity of major events staged across Latrobe City in such a short span reflects our growth as a regional sporting and cultural hub of national significance,” said Latrobe City Mayor Kellie O’Callaghan.  

“We continue to gain momentum in this space, activating our world class infrastructure with increasing regularity and attracting a host of new events to our flourishing regional city.”  

Some new events also emerged on the Latrobe City calendar, including the debut of the AGL Loy Yang Gippsland Cup soccer tournament, featuring the likes of Melbourne Victory and Eastern Lions SC, as well as a Yinnar Food Truck Festival.  

Annual Australia Day breakfasts and citizenship ceremonies were again a highlight across the region, as was the recurring Energy Australia Classic and Latrobe City Classic Pairs lawn bowls competitions, which drew a combined 1,400 people to Yallourn and Moe.  

The events bonanza played as a precursor for upcoming major events, including Latrobe City’s pending participation as a Commonwealth Games host hub.