Daylesford Community Theatre, along with  Daylesford Cinema members, patrons and interested community members are calling on the Minister for Local Government to replace Hepburn Shire Council with an Administrator.  We believe: 

• The Rex project has been mismanaged from the very outset.  From the initial purchase of the building back in 2016 by the then CEO, to the recent decision to abandon the project – this whole project has been a complete debacle and the Hepburn Shire Council needs to be held responsible and accountable.
  
  
• The Rex debacle between 2016 – 2018 has been well documented and
  has been the subject of investigation  by the Local Government Inspectorate.  We await their findings with great anticipation.
  
  
• The community was led to believe that the Council was committed to completing the building from comments from the then Mayor in the Rex update, 21 June 2021, “We understand the importance of delivering this transformational project” and at the Council Meeting on 20 July 2021, “Council’s vision is to return the Rex Theatre to the community as a public facility.”  
  
  
• In voting to discontinue the Hepburn Hub at the Rex project and to sell the building without any community consultation, Councillors have treated our community with contempt.  They have failed to follow their own “Community Engagement Policy”.  
  
  
• The Council paid $6 million for the building, another $3 million was spent on it, the expected sale price has been quoted as $3 million, that leaves a cash loss of $6 million – with nothing to show for it!
  
  
• Council staff work in substandard conditions in non-compliant buildings and have been waiting on new offices since 2014.  Library staff also work in substandard conditions in a library which is too small for the community.  The community cinema, carefully built up over 4.5 years into a treasured community asset is now facing closure as it has nowhere to go.  
  
  
• Daylesford Cinema was built from funds raised by our community in 2011/12.  This community raised $140K from donations and grants from philanthropic organisations to build and fit out the cinema in 2013.    A group of active volunteers built the cinema into a vibrant and much valued community asset.  The cinema operated 52 weeks of the year, the school holidays were the busiest times with kids, parents and grandparents enjoying the holiday program.  The cinema ran fundraisers for important local issues. Locals and visitors alike could see the latest films throughout the year at a reasonable price and many volunteers stepped up into roles where they learned new skills. 

With the Council’s shock decision made at its November meeting to abandon the project and sell the building, the much valued Daylesford Cinema is destined to disappear.   Once again, the appalling mismanagement of the Hepburn Hub at the Rex project and capricious decision-making is in full view, the impact of which is massive for Council staff and the community.  We believe the Council is not acting in the communty’s interests and should be replaced by an Administrator.