By Phillip Island Nature Parks
The Phillip Island Nature Parks Board met on March 27 at the Nobbies Centre and on April 29 at its office in Cowes.
Visitation
Following a successful summer peak period, the Board was happy to see visitation had remained strong leading into the Victorian school holidays and Easter period. The positive visitation trend provided the Board confidence that its revenue budget would be met for the financial year.
While in person visitation was trending in a positive direction, on the eve of World Penguin Day on April 24 the penguins were once again live streamed to penguin lovers at home. Two thousand and six hundred viewers tuned in to watch, generating 150 million in marketing reach during and post the event.
Governance and risk management
At its April meeting the Board focused on reviewing the organisation's strategic risks associated with the health and protection of the little penguin population and biosecurity threats that have the potential to impact wildlife more broadly.
This involved reviewing the various processes in place to protect the penguin population, which were primarily directed at the elimination or reduction of threats to penguins, increasing their resilience to climate-related population changes and the identification of potential emerging threats to the penguin population, including monitoring for biosecurity threats that impact native wildlife.
Further supporting the Board's commitment to strong governance practices, the Board reviewed and approved the Nature Parks Animal Welfare Charter, the organisation's primary policy which governs the safety and wellbeing of animals that the Nature Parks manage and ensures the highest level of ethical wildlife tourism interactions.
Future planning
The Board spent generous time on planning for the future across March and April, from reviewing the organisation's long-term strategic direction and capital works plan, to considering the Board's own schedule of events across 2026 and its succession planning.
At the March Planning Day, the Board was pleased to provide its input towards reshaping of organisation's purpose and vision and to also provide further guidance on the breadth of priorities in the draft strategic plan. The Board looks forward to further staff and community engagement across the coming months and stakeholder consultation as the plan nears completion towards the end of the financial year.
Recently, the Nature Parks revisited the Summerland Peninsula Master Plan with a view to align the vision of the Summerland Peninsula for the next 20-30 years with the organisation's broader strategic planning context; and capture opportunities at the Nobbies precinct and Summerland Farm.
In March, the Board approved the preferred tenderer that will undertake this critical piece of work in redesigning the Summerland Peninsula Masterplan. More information about this project will be shared with staff and the community in the coming months.
While contemplating its broader strategic direction, the Board also considered the organisation's shorter term infrastructure renewal works and capital improvement needs. The Board noted
Management's infrastructure renewal and capital works planning which focused on assets at the Penguin Parade, the Nobbies Centre and several beach access assets across the next 10 years. The
Board discussed its appetite around the various funding options to support the infrastructure renewal, which would be further investigated.
The Board reflected upon a significant milestone at the Penguin Parade with the completion of Stage 1 and commencement of Stage 2 of the Penguin Parade Boardwalk and Viewing Stands Project.
On March 1, the Chair attended the opening of the new outbound boardwalk, which was officially opened by local member Jordan Crugnale.
The Chair thanked the Victorian State Government for its $5 million investment via the Regional Tourism Investment Fund, sharing how the new boardwalk would deliver an enhanced viewing experience for visitors, offering safety and accessibility improvements, while ensuring the long-term protection of penguins and their habitat.
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The Board was very pleased to have an opportunity to share its aspirations with the Bass Coast Shire Council on April 29. The Nature Parks Board and Chief Executive Officer held positive discussions with councillors while they met for their regular briefings at the Penguin Parade and the Board looks forward to future opportunities for engagement and collaboration.
Stakeholder plan
The Nature Parks stakeholder plan was presented, and the Board outlined its support and provided strategic direction around the key relationships and strategic engagement activities across the various levels of the Nature Parks stakeholders.
Enterprise agreement
The Board was provided an update on the Nature Parks enterprise agreement negotiations and was informed that discussions were continuing in a positive manner and progressing towards an in-principle agreement. The Board thanked the People and Culture Manager and wider team supporting the bargaining process.
