Cr Joel Grist, Surf Coast Shire

14/08/2026

Was great to meet with the community today at Moriac General Store.

Topics discussed included:

💡🧑‍🎓 A student led idea for a pump track for Moriac.

🚸🧒👦The predicament local kindergartens are finding themselves in with the State Government’s “Best Start, Best Life” reforms along with it’s “Priority of Access” reforms leaving some local children behind as kindergartens can’t meet the demand of the extra hours or give priority to kids living within the township or even within the LGA.

⚠️🐓🧑‍🌾The condition of unsealed roads in our farming regions having direct economic impact on farmers income due to bruising of livestock during transport.

🚴🏻‍♂️ Safety concerns for school kids crossing Deppeler Avenue, Moriac.

🏘️ 🛤️ Beautification of the Main Street precinct.

🔀 🏉🏐A pathway connecting Moriac township with the footy and netball precinct.

12/08/2026

For those in Moriac and surrounds, I’ll be at the Moriac General Store this Friday morning joining the mayor at her ‘Meet the Mayor’ session.

Drop by for a chat, ask a question, share an idea or just to say G’day!

⏰ 10-11am Friday 14 August

📍 Moriac General Store

24/07/2026

25/06/2026

Tuesday night’s council meeting saw council pass a budget with a 2.75% increase in everyone’s rates. I was one of three councillors to oppose this budget.
I also attempted to remove a new expense item from the budget with an amendment that was voted against 6-3.

Here is my speech on the budget:

ITEM 4.1 BUDGET
I thank the finance officers for the considerable work that goes into developing Council's budget.
However, I am disappointed that the officer-led service reviews were not completed in time to influence this budget.
For a budget presented as the first under a new Council Plan, that represents a significant missed opportunity.
Before asking ratepayers to fund this budget, they are entitled to know that every service, every
program and every expenditure line has been rigorously examined and justified. The logical
sequence should have been to review services, identify efficiencies, establish priorities and then build the budget. That work has not yet been completed.
My concern is compounded by Council once again proposing the maximum allowable 2.75 per cent increase in rates while simultaneously planning to operate at a deficit.
Many ratepayers will reasonably ask how Council can justify collecting the maximum increase
available before completing the reviews needed to determine whether existing services remain
necessary, affordable and efficient.
Council's own strategic risk framework identifies a significant risk that the breadth and level of
Council operations may exceed our long-term financial sustainability. Yet this budget largely rolls
forward existing expenditure and service levels while postponing many of the difficult decisions
needed to address that challenge.
There are certainly discretionary spending items that warrant closer examination. I could point to
a grants program that costs 64 cents in administration for every dollar distributed to the community, or the more than $3 million spent annually on community participation and creative
economy activities. But those individual items are not the central issue.
The central issue is that Council has correctly identified the challenges before us—financial
sustainability, asset renewal pressures, affordability concerns and growing community
expectations—but this budget does not contain the level of reform required to address them.
The first budget under a new Council Plan should have been a reform budget.
Instead, it is largely a continuation budget.
Our ratepayers deserved better. For those reasons, I cannot support the budget.

13/06/2026

This is an exciting community led project that could grow to become a real point of difference for the town of Winchelsea at Winchelsea Globe Theatre. Happy to get behind it. 🎹

A piano for the Globe. A future for Winchelsea.

Last week, Rural Arts Victoria and Winchelsea Major Events met with Cr Adrian Schonfelder, Cr Tony Phelps and Cr Joel Grist to discuss an exciting community-led vision: bringing a grand piano back to the Globe Theatre.

The meeting was positive, constructive and encouraging. We are grateful to the councillors for their time and their willingness to listen as we shared our vision for restoring the Globe as a vibrant centre for music, performance and community life.

This isn't simply about acquiring an instrument. A grand piano would open the door to school concerts, choirs, dance performances, visiting artists, community events and new opportunities for young musicians. It would help return the Globe to what it was always meant to be – a place where people come together to experience the arts.

The community is leading the way. We are exploring donations and fundraising opportunities to secure a suitable instrument, and we are now seeking broad community support as we continue conversations with Council about housing a piano at the Globe.

If you believe Winchelsea deserves a thriving cultural future, we'd love to hear from you. Whether you're a performer, audience member, volunteer, local business owner or simply someone who values our heritage and community, your support matters. To join our supporters' database, please email [email protected] . Every name counts.

Together, we can ensure that future generations don't have to leave town to experience great music.

Clockwise from left: Cr Adrian Schonfelder, Cr Tony Phelps, Elaine Atkinson, Zinaida Campion and Cr Joel Grist.

27/05/2026

My speech 🎤 on item 4.1 The Quarterly Budget Report at last nights council meeting:

“It's important we explain this result carefully to the community and be honest about what is actually driving this result.

The headline surplus sounds great, but much of it appears to be coming from temporary factors like accounting changes to depreciation, delayed spending on projects like the Pollocksford Bridge, and higher than expected investment returns on cash reserved for the pool.

When those one-off wind fall and timing benefits are removed, Council’s financial and operational position appears significantly tighter than the headline figures suggest.

For example, in response to my councillor enquiry regarding the budget and staffing cost overruns, officers acknowledge that measures being used to manage the budget such as staff recruitment holds and spending reductions have already had some impact on service levels to our community.

It is also disappointing that, while Council is preparing to take on a $6 million loan to complete the pool project, the $1.2 million in unexpected investment gains earned from money reserved for that same project have not been available to put toward reducing the borrowing requirement - and the future interest burden - that loan will put on ratepayers.

I think many in the community would reasonably expect that investment earnings generated from project reserve funds would be applied to lowering the cost of that project itself, rather than having it be absorbed into broader operational pressures across the organisation.

It is also worth noting that development-related revenue is also slowing and supplementary rate revenue forecasts are weakening. That is not a stable long-term funding position.

Our community expects conservative and transparent financial management of their money. I’m not comfortable with a position where investment windfalls, accounting adjustments and deferred spending are helping present a stronger short-term result, while operational pressures appear to be continually building underneath the surface.

And with the Draft 2026–27 Budget coming to Council next month, I think this report raises serious questions about the sustainability of next year’s financial position once these temporary supports disappear and additional borrowing, inflationary and operational costs begin flowing through.

While we are looking at historical data not future performance, I won’t vote in favour of noting this report to highlight my level of concern with our financial direction.”

Full video on the link:

Surf Coast Shire offers On-Demand video and Audio of Council Meetings

21/05/2026

Big government keeps demanding more control, more money, and more trust — while delivering less accountability.

Communities function best when decisions are transparent, local, and answerable to the people affected by them.

Residents are tired of being managed from above while services decline and costs rise.

Good governance starts with less spin, more accountability, and putting power back closer to the community.

19/05/2026

Some Councillors are arguing we can’t reduce rates by even 0.25% from the maximum allowed 2.75% because we would need to find around $250,000 in savings.

But here’s a question ratepayers should be asking:

Why are we running a grants program that costs the community roughly that same amount once administration is included? 🤔

The grants themselves total about $164,000, but council has admitted it costs 64 cents in administration for every $1 handed out. That pushes the real cost of the program to nearly $270,000.

So effectively, ratepayers are funding:
• $164,000 to community groups ⛹️‍♀️🧑‍🚒🎨🛟
• but more than $100,000 in bureaucracy and administration 🧾

If council ended the grants program altogether, the community would retain roughly $250,000 in their own pockets through lower rates.💰

And here’s the difference:
When residents get to keep their money and donate directly to their favourite sporting club, fundraiser, charity, school, CFA, SES, arts group, or community cause, far more of the money actually reaches the people doing the work — instead of disappearing into council processes, staffing, assessment panels, reports, and administration.

Council keeps claiming every fraction of a rate reduction is “unaffordable.” 🫰

But at the same time, it is overseeing programs where huge amounts of public money is being consumed before it ever reaches the community; and, here’s the kicker, some grants go to individuals for their own professional development with no broad community benefit. 🫩

Ratepayers are right to ask:
Is council supporting the community — or building expensive systems around distributing our own money back to us?

There is still time to have your say on councils draft budget at the attached link:

Geelong Advertiser
Geelong Indy
Surf Coast Times
Council Watch Victoria Inc

We welcome your feedback on the Draft Budget 2026-27