Martin Cutter is the CEO of the City of Greater Geelong. With a population of more than 252,000 people, Geelong is Victoria’s largest regional city.

In times of crisis, it is never more important to commit to your values and clearly understand your purpose. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has reinforced the City of Greater Geelong’s focus on our core beliefs and highlighted the importance of living out our values.

Relief and recovery efforts have been at the centre of our COVID-19 response.

The Council has adopted four support packages, totalling more than $10.7 million, which target those residents, groups and businesses most impacted by the pandemic.

They have not only provided targeted stimulus to specific areas of the economy, but also recognised the priceless value of our sport, hobby, cultural and arts groups.

The enforced closures of our gyms, swimming pools and cultural venues saw 570 employees impacted. As part of our ongoing support, we launched a major redeployment program that aimed to find impacted staff alternative roles within the organisation. More than 220 roles were filled, with all full-time and part-time staff who registered for redeployment given new positions.

The lessons learnt and the advances we’ve made during this unique period have strengthened our belief in our values and their importance to our workplace culture.

Martin Cutter
Chief Executive Officer
City of Greater Geelong