At their October meeting, councillors unanimously voted to make entry free to the shire’s six outdoor pools, including at Kyabram, Tongala, Lockington, Stanhope, Rushworth and Colbinabbin.
Moving the motion, Cr Zoe Cook said the pools were a “great benefit” to the shire but recognised the need for redeveloping the pools, which were showing their age.
“I think our communities should have … better assets; but in the meantime, I think it is important we provide this free general admission while the pools are still there,” she said.
“I hope (free entry) may potentially make up for any lack of services in the future that may be created by potentially replacing … or working on those assets.”
She also said, where other larger shires had shopping centres for residents to find respite from heatwaves, Campaspe Shire lacked public spaces for its residents to stay cool.
Cr Cook said keeping public pools fee-free bridged a socio-economic gap for those who couldn’t afford to keep the air conditioning on, where everyone could keep cool by hitting the pool.
Crs Luke Sharrock and Jessica Mitchell speaking for the motion said keeping the pools free would mean people were not only keeping cool but doing so in safe means in areas supervised by lifeguards.
Cr Mitchell highlighted alarming Royal Life Saving Society data, revealing that drowning rates in regional and remote areas were twice that of major cities.
“I believe (council) has a role to play in this, and if by allowing people to access the pools for free hopefully improves this — that’s something we can do,” she said.
This is the fourth year council has waived pool entry fees, following a significant decline of pool usage at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cr John Zobec speaking for the motion said waiving the fees was a way of bringing people back into the community following COVID-19 and was promoting healthy lifestyles for Campaspe residents.
However, Cr Zobec acknowledged that the decision could potentially impact privately owned facilities such as the Kyvalley pool.
The council voted against officers’ recommendation, which was to implement pool fees and charges as set out in the 2025/26 budget, made in response to generally declining usage figures.
The request to investigate the free pool entry option was made by a councillor during a briefing session on October 7.
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