Bendigo Council Decisions Rest on Specific Dates and Rate Percentages

The City of Greater Bendigo Council has approved motions that set 2032 as the target year to end New Year's Eve and Easter Saturday fireworks, replacing them after resident consultation with drone light displays and spatial animation. A separate decision sets 2028 as the deadline to phase out animal-based entertainment such as petting zoos and pony rides at council events.

Timeline Targets Anchor Policy Changes

These two dates establish clear numerical endpoints for shifts in how the council runs public celebrations and entertainment. The 2032 horizon applies to both New Year's Eve and Easter Saturday events, while the 2028 date covers the removal of animal-based activities across city programming. Both changes stem directly from council motions passed in the current term.

Council Structure Provides Decision-Making Context

The nine councillors elected in October 2024 across three wards hold responsibility for these motions. A March 2026 by-election filled the Lockwood Ward vacancy with Donna Nicholas, bringing the total to the required nine members. This composition handled the fireworks, animal entertainment, planning scheme and rate decisions without seeking a rate cap variation in the 2023/2024 financial year.

Rate System and Planning Amendment Supply Additional Figures

In 2023/2024 the council operated under the Victorian Government's 3.5 per cent Fair Go Rates System while prioritising flood recovery work. The same period saw adoption of Planning Scheme Amendment C275gben to protect gold rush era miners' housing and submission of an updated application for the Bendigo Art Gallery expansion. These actions occurred alongside the event policy motions.

Resident consultation on the fireworks replacement will now proceed under the approved motions. The council will also implement the 2028 animal entertainment phase-out. Both processes follow the numerical targets already set and remain subject to the same nine-councillor decision framework established after the 2024 election and 2026 by-election.