THERE’S less than a week now until the ballot packs are posted out in the local council elections, from Monday, October 7, and in both South Gippsland and Bass Coast, local voters are being given a few chances to ‘Meet the Candidates’.

The main wards attracting the interest in South Gippsland and Bass Coast appear to be Strzelecki ward in South Gippsland and Bunurong ward in Bass Coast.

In Strzelecki ward, from Korumburra west to Nyora, growth pressures at Nyora and Poowong, lack of support for Korumburra and lingering issues about the Korumburra Hub and Senior Citizens Centre are still simmering away, while in Bunurong (covering most of Wonthaggi, Inverloch and Cape Paterson) its coastal erosion, settlement boundaries and the Surf Parade pathway, among many other issues that are getting people excited.

“Given the issues that Inverloch currently faces, there a good number of them, it is important and essential that we are represented both truly and rigorously over the next four years. Nine candidates have put themselves forward to do this. To get a measure of each candidate we have organised a meeting and invited all candidates to attend. Eight have expressed a willingness to attend in person and one, unfortunately, is unable to due to prior travel commitments,” said convenor Kim White on social media this week.

“The format will give equal time to all candidates to answer questions. Candidates will not have seen the questions beforehand as they will come from the audience. One additional element of the meeting will be an explanation of how the voting system works. This is an important part of the election process, and it is important for people to understand properly if they want their vote to really count for Inverloch,” he said.

Other issues impacting Wonthaggi, including the Environmental Audit Overlay fiasco and Cape Paterson’s northern expansion plans may also be canvassed.

There’s also a Meet the Candidates night at Grantville for Western Port ward voters.

Here are the event details:

South Gippsland

• Strzelecki ward candidates, Korumburra Scout Hall, Queen Street, Thursday, October 3 two sessions 2pm-4pm and 6.30pm-8.30pm including Q&A.
• Promontory Coast candidates, TBA.
• Tarwin Valley ward candidates (only Clare Williams, John Schelling & Brad Snell) Lyon & Bair Café, 24 Bair St, Leongatha Monday, October 7 from 9am-10.30am and Sweet Life Café & Cakes 1 Bair St, Leongatha Tuesday, October 8 from 9am-10,30am.

Bass Coast

• Bunurong ward candidates, Sunday, October 6 at 4pm at the Inverloch Football Clubhouse, convened by Kim White.
• Western Port candidates, Grantville Recreation Reserve Friday, October 4 6pm.

Local government elections are upon us and they certainly are creating interesting conversations in Inverloch.