Board of Management Update – February & March 2024

The Phillip Island Nature Parks Board met on 29 February and 21 March 2024 at the Penguin Parade Visitor Centre, encompassing both a formal meeting and a planning day with the Leadership team. Below are highlights from these meetings: 
VISITATION PEAK PERIOD 
The Board was delighted to hear the positive and successful peak period visitation results, and that attractions performance had once again exceeded expectations with visitor numbers continuing to rebound in a positive way. Pleasingly, the financial year-to-date revenue was 9.3% higher than the same period in the 2019 financial year, despite visitor numbers being slightly lower than 2019. The Board noted the remarkable outcome had been fuelled by a greater number of international travellers, combined with a strong domestic visitation and the Board was hopeful this strong trend would continue throughout 2024.  
GOVERNANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT 
In February, the Board considered the organisation’s occupational, health and safety frameworks, which included endorsing the Occupational Health and Safety Policy and Child Safety and Wellbeing Procedure, whilst also considering the organisation’s occupational, health and safety risk environment. In addition, the Board endorsed the new People and Culture-Inclusion and Diversity Policy, which details the organisation’s intentions in relation to people management, inclusion, and diversity. 
The Nature Parks Board Charter is the key governing document for the Board that sets out its role, responsibilities, and powers under the Crown Land Reserves Act 1978. The Board approved its Charter and noted its alignment with the model policies determined by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).  
 
 
PENGUIN PARADE BOARDWALKS PROJECT – STAGE 2 
The Board was pleased to announce the appointment of Simpson Construction following a competitive tender process, which concluded in December 2023. Simpson Construction is off to a flying start and provided an update to the Board on the final design and construction methodologies for Stage 1 of the Penguin Parade Boardwalks project, in conjunction with the design team, led by Terroir Architects, who designed the Penguin Parade Visitor Centre.   
The construction of the new boardwalk was scheduled to begin early May 2024 following the penguin breeding season and departure of short-tailed shearwaters. The Board also confirmed its commitment to redesign the Penguins Plus viewing stands in this stage of works and noted this component of the project was on track to commence in July 2024. At the March planning day, the Board and Leadership Team considered the future stages required to fully refresh and replace the Penguin Parade boardwalks and stands. This whole project remains a very high priority. 
RECONCILIATION ACTION PLAN 
The Nature Parks commitment to reconciliation and recognition includes having a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) with deliverables set out against the three pillars of reconciliation: respect, relationships, and opportunities. The fourth draft Reconciliation Action Plan (Stretch) June 2024-June 2027 has been developed with input from Reconciliation Australia and Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation and was provided to the Board for feedback and noting. This revised Reconciliation Action Plan provides an opportunity for the Nature Parks to deepen its understanding of Country through meaningful relationships, enable Bunurong to drive outcomes for Country through shared responsibility, and drive positive social change by supporting our team to be truth tellers and allies for self-determination, voice, and treaty.  
In addition, a review of the Nature Parks Reconciliation Advisory Committee (RAC) was undertaken to ensure that the organisation’s plans are well guided by community input and well-resourced within the organisation. We will soon be seeking interest from First Nations Community Members willing to be involved.  
FUTURE PLANNING 
The Nature Parks is looking to develop its next long-term strategy and commenced this work with early ideas and workshops conducted with the Community Environment Advisory Committee, Nature Parks volunteers and the Leadership group. This work will continue in the coming months and ideas will be further tested with community towards to end of the financial year. The Board look forward to engaging with our community and key stakeholders throughout this journey. 
WASTE CONTRACTOR 
In 2023 the Nature Parks started the tender process for the delivery and management of its waste services to meet government compliance standards and to make progress against the Nature Parks own sustainability targets. The Board considered the various tender submissions and options available for the waste contract and endorsed Veolia and Bass Highway Waste as the preferred tenderers for its waste management services. 
One of the key improvements the Nature Parks is looking to implement in waste management will be the introduction of an effective green waste system across all sites and improved education and management of waste and recycling streams across attractions and reserves. These improvements are expected to roll out in 2024-25 and were a key component of the planning day discussions. 
Kevin Love 
Chair 
Phillip Island Nature Parks