Survey of Busselton residents show community happy to live in area but disappointed in council leadership

A survey of Busselton residents has revealed they are happy with life in the area but their views of the council’s vision and leadership has plummeted. The City of Busselton led the more than 60 local government areas surveyed in the categories of community’s pride for the area they live, community spirit, belonging and feeling safe. It also led the way in economic areas such as access to goods and services, the area’s visitability and its tourism and destination marketing. However, respondents were less kind to the leadership and decision-making process of the council. The survey by Catalyse as a MARKYT Community Scorecard received 1363 responses after nearly 11,000 invitations were sent to randomly selected households in the area. In just seven years, the percentage of community members who agreed the city had developed and communicated a clear vision for the area has halved from 61 per cent to 30 per cent. The amount of respondents who agreed the city had a good understanding of community needs also dropped from 40 per cent to 23 per cent, while views on the council’s leadership fell by from 57 per cent to 42 per cent. Busselton mayor Phill Cronin said he understood parts of the community would not be satisfied with every decision. “Making decisions for a growing community is challenging and we recognise that some decisions will be received differently by different people in the community,” he said. “We also recognise there are some issues the community is facing, such as housing and cost-of-living pressures, which the city doesn’t hold all the levers to resolve.” Mr Cronin said he was pleased to see the community’s response to living in the area. “It is fantastic to hear how positive and optimistic the people living here feel — we have an enviable lifestyle with good access to facilities, services and attractions, and an absolutely stunning natural environment,” he said. “With the new flight services to Melbourne and Sydney, our residents are feeling even more connected than ever.” The results will form part of the city’s new strategic council plan, with community workshops scheduled for July 17 in Dunsborough and July 18 in Busselton. Mr Cronin encouraged the community to get involved to help shape the plan. “We are planning to workshop the survey results and look at incorporating some approaches into the new council plan to address feedback received through the survey, including explaining the reasons for the decisions we make,” he said. “And we will continue to strategically partner with other agencies and organisations to drive positive outcomes.”