Q. What is behind Bunbury 2030 and what will be done with the comments and feedback provided?
The Bunbury 2030 campaign is being overseen by the City ofBunbury's Executive Team who are in turn directed by Council. The City ofBunbury's Community and Customer Services Department is managing the roll out on behalf of the Executive Leadership Team.
The City ofBunburyhas received funding from the Department of Local Government to assist with the development of a Strategic Community Plan, the development of which includes extensive community and stakeholder engagement. We have been eager to use a variety of tools and channels to capture as many people in the community as possible. These include:
- yoursaybunbury.com.au
- media, advertisements, printed surveys and related initiatives/events
- community workshops
The external facilitator appointed for the workshops, Allan Adams from Beyond IQ, will continue to work with the City ofBunburyto distil all feedback and information received into tangible and meaningful themes which will then guide the development of the Draft Strategic Community Plan in June 2012.
The development of a Strategic Community Plan (including extensive engagement of all stakeholders) is something the State Government has legislated for every Council to undertake with a deadline of 30 June 2013. This is a requirement under the new Integrated Planning Framework and includes an overarching Strategic Community Plan plus a 4-5 year Corporate (Business) Plan, Long Term Financial Plan, Asset Management Plan (10 years) and Workforce Plan (10 years). These additional (and more detailed) plans will be developed over the next 12 months so the City of Bunbury will be compliant by June 2013 (although we will be using a ‘first go’ version of these documents this financial year).
This year’s budget and business plans will be based on principles and feedback from the community (via Bunbury 2030) and the next year’s series of plans will all be fully aligned to strategic objectives outlined in the Strategic Community Plan.
Q. What is considered appropriate forum etiquette?
Every comment is valued for its content. This discussion forum allows everyone to have a say and it brings out many different ideas and viewpoints.
A single comment may have as much influence as 100 comments if the idea is a good one.
In order to play a positive part in the discussion and to give your views maximum impact we encourage you to follow the etiquette guide below.
It’s a good idea to read through the information on the site and the other participant’s comments before getting involved in the discussion yourself.
- Always respect the views of other participants even if they don’t agree with you.
- Be constructive. It’s okay to disagree with other forum participants, in fact we encourage debate, just keep the dialogue positive.
- Always keep things civil. We recognise that this can be difficult sometimes, especially when you are passionate about an issue, but it is important to keep the discussion focused on the issues rather than letting it deteriorate into personal insults.
- Once you’ve left your comment keep an eye on the forum to see what other people have to say.
- If you feel that someone has insulted you, report their comment to the moderator. Don’t perpetuate the dispute. The moderator will take a look at the offending comment and decide whether it should be removed.
- Stay on topic. These forums have been created for a specific purpose. Please stay within the boundaries of the subject matter.
- Turn off the “CAPS LOCK”. Writing in ALL CAPS is the equivalent of SHOUTING and can cause offence.
- Choose one discussion topic under which you would like to post each of your unique comments. Don’t cut and paste the same comment into lots of different discussion topics. These will be considered duplicates and may be removed.
- Don’t be a “troll”. Trolls intentionally incite annoyance or offense. They do not participate constructively in the discussion and do not add any value to the debate.
- Don’t bully, harass or threaten other participants. If another participant proffers an opinion that you don’t agree with, you have no right to demand that they support their position with a detailed argument. They do not have to respond to your questions. It is up to each individual to participate in the forum as much or as little as they wish.
- Please respect the moderators. Our job is to keep the forum safe and constructive so that everybody gets to have his or her fair say.
Q. How can I participate in the online consultations?
If you have not previously participated simply click on the "Register" button at the top right hand of the page, when prompted create a USERNAME (Note: your comments will appear under your user name and you can comment anonymously through a username of your choice) create a PASSWORD of your choice provide a valid email address, your age, gender and the location in which you live.
If you have previously partcipated simply click on the "Sign In" function located on the right hand side of the top tool bar.
Q. Is my privacy protected?
Yes! Your privacy is absolutely protected and Council will only use your email to contact you with updates and to invite you to participate in consultations. Your email address will not be distributed to any third party or used for any others purpose. We do not ask for your personal details or require them at any time as part of your participation. You may like to review our privacy statement.
Q. How are forum comments moderated?
All moderation is carried out by Bang the Table and all moderation is independent to Council. The moderators do not edit or alter any comments and will only remove comments deemed to be significantly off topic, offensive or malicious, in which case they are removed from the site immediately. Refer to the moderation guidelines.
Q. What are the advantages of engaging online?
- It is a quick, safe and convenient way to have your say on a range of issues and topics.
- It is a great way to keep up to date and contribute your views on issues affecting your community.
- You can see what other community members think about an issue or topic, respond with your own views and engage in a discussion.
- You don't have to attend community meetings at a set place and time, you can contribute at a time and place that suits you.
- It allows for a range of different people, with different views to discuss matters that impact on their community.
