Council
27 July, 2026
Council to trial community newsletter
Council at its meeting on Tuesday night (July 21) resolved to produce four newsletters this financial year and to distribute them to approximately 17,000 households, roadside delivery points and PO Boxes across the shire.
Goulburn-Mulwaree Council will trial its own community newsletter.
Council at its meeting on Tuesday night (July 21) resolved to produce four newsletters this financial year and to distribute them to approximately 17,000 households, roadside delivery points and PO Boxes across the shire.
It will also be available electronically on council’s website and Facebook page.
The newsletter will feature a Mayoral Message, key achievements, major projects and community outcomes.
It will also direct residents to key documents including the Operational Plan, Delivery Program and Annual Report.
Council will consider a report at the end of the trial to determine its success.
However, there was debate on how the newsletter should be distributed moving forward.
The staff recommendation was for the trial period to be used to build digital subscriber growth and that the newsletter be distributed electronically after 12 months.
Councillor Bob Kirk said the staff report ‘pre-determined’ that the newsletter only be available electronically after the trial ends.
He said a “large slice of the community” would never access council information electronically and would therefore miss out on council information.
“That’s the reality – that’s what we’re dealing with.”
Cr Kirk said electronic delivery might be council’s preferred outcome but it’s not what the community would want.
He also questioned the timeliness of a quarterly newsletter.
“We meet monthly. We make decisions. We put out policies and strategies and plans but we put them out generally for maybe 28 days’ exhibition.”
He said residents would still be missing out on council information with a quarterly newsletter “and that’s the issue we’re trying to address”.
Cr Jason Shepherd agreed on the issue of distribution.
“Some people don’t have access to emails, some are elderly, some people choose not to have any social media aspect in their lives at all,” he said.
He said the newsletter needed to be “in writing”.
“The community has asked for it and the community needs it,” he said.
However, the distribution of a printed newsletter may contradict council’s own commitment to environmental responsibility.
A staff report prepared for council’s March 17 meeting stated that council was “committed to operating as a greener and more environmentally responsible organisation”.
It said council had successfully transitioned away from printing and positing annual waste calendars in recent years and the change had significantly reduced paper consumption as well as printing and distribution costs.
It said the community had adapted well to accessing waste collection information through digital platforms and online tools, “demonstrating growing acceptance of environmentally sustainable communication methods”.
“This positive shift reinforces council’s broader commitment to reducing unnecessary printed materials and promoting digital engagement wherever practical,” it said.
Staff recommended at the time that any printed community newsletter be limited to one a year “balancing environmental responsibility with equitable access to information”.
The cost of designing, printing and distributing a community newsletter is expected to be around $10,000 per edition.
The cost does not take into account resource implications including content collection, editing, internal reviews and approvals, distribution coordination and digital publication and promotion – all of which would need to be absorbed into existing workloads.
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