Sustainability Fact Sheet

Sustainability (in a natural environment context) addresses the protection and enhancement of ecosystems to ensure their viability into the future. It is important in making sure that we have and will continue to have clean air, water, biodiversity and resources to protect human health and our environment. It is also important to achieve social and economic sustainability as it is interconnected with the environment, and health and wellbeing of the community.

Transport The World Health Organization advises:

“Healthy transport means less driving and more walking and cycling, backed up by better public transport.”

“Cycling, walking and the use of public transport promote health in four ways: provide exercise, reduce fatal accidents, increase social contact and reduce air pollution.” 1

How people travelled to work on Census day (2006)2

Mode of Transport Greater Bendigo (%) Regional Victoria (%)

Train 0.3 0.9

Bus 0.8 0.7

Taxi 0.2 0.1

Car – as driver 66.4 62.5

Car – as passenger 6.1 5.5

Motorbike 0.5 0.6

Bike 1.2 1.1

Walked 4.0 5.1

Sustainabil i ty September 2012

Fact Sheet

City of Greater Bendigo – Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan

Sustainability Fact Sheet page 2

Number of registered motor vehicles per household (2011)3

Greater Bendigo Victoria

Number % Number %

None 2,659 7.0 164,030 8.4

1 motor vehicle 12,890 33.7 673,937 34.7

2 motor vehicles 14,388 37.6 720,287 37.0

3 or more motor vehicles 7,120 18.6 327,268 16.8

Not Stated 1,162 3.0 59,167 3.0

Transport Limitations Transport limitations are measured by asking respondents if their day to day travel had been restricted or limited. In 2007, 20.9% of residents in Greater Bendigo had experienced transport limitations in the previous year compared to 20.3% in Victoria.4 Of the respondents of the Bendigo Wellbeing Survey, 22.7% have difficulty accessing private or public transport services to meet their needs and 30.6% anticipated that in the future someone in their household would have difficulty with transport in the next five years.5

In Greater Bendigo, only 37% of the population live near public transport. This is substantially lower compared to Victoria which is 72%.4

Commuting Locally Between August and October 2011, 31.4% of residents in Greater Bendigo had never used V-Line public transport services, 62.1% had never used other local transport services and 34.7% had never commuted by bicycle or walked.5

Public transport journeys in Greater Bendigo increased by 22% (83 to 457) since 1996. 6



Housing

Building Approvals7

Residential building approval statistics are used as an indicator of the general level of economic activity, employment and investment in an area.

Social Housing Number of private dwellings rented by landlord type (2006 and 2011) 8

State Government

Housing Authority

Housing Cooperative,

community or church group

Total % off all occupied,

rented private dwellings

2006 1,479 306 1,785 20.1 Greater Bendigo 2011 1,549 218 1,830 18.0

2006 54,522 7,467 61,989 14.1 Victoria

2011 54,766 8,835 63,601 12.3



Public Housing Public Housing waiting list for Bendigo (March 2012)9

Early Housing Wait Turn Total

319 809 1,128

Early Housing – for people who are experiencing, or at risk of recurring homelessness, people with a disability that have significant support needs and people with special housing needs.

Wait Turn – for eligible people on low incomes.8

Suburbs that have waiting lists include Bendigo, California Gully, Eaglehawk, East Bendigo and Epsom.10

In Australia, the proportion of people with a disability in public housing is double that of the general population.11

Household Size/Tenure Average Household Size 20118

2006 2011

Greater Bendigo 2.5 2.5

Victoria 2.6 2.6

Housing Tenure (2011)3

Occupied private dwellings

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Fully owned Being purchased Rented Other Not stated

Housing Tenure

Per

cent

age

(%)

2006

2011



Median Prices17

Median House Prices

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

500,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Year

Dol

lars

($)

Greater Bendigo

Victoria

Median Unit Prices

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Year

Dol

lars

($)

Greater Bendigo

Victoria



Median Land Prices

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Year

Dol

lars

($)

Greater Bendigo

Victoria

Land18

In Greater Bendigo, land zonings as at 2011 are as follows: Business Land Use - <1% Residential Land Use – 3.5% Industrial Land Use – <1% Rural Land Use – 72.4% Other Land Use – 23.5%

Rateable Properties19

Number of residential, farm, commercial/industrial and vacant properties in Greater Bendigo

3,133

39,460

1,349

4,906

4,744

3,128

1,332

39,984

40,849

4,912

3,195

1,311

41,663

4,799

3,240

1,283

42,678

1,268

3,276

4,739

0

15,000

30,000

45,000

Residential Farm Commmercial Vacant

2007/2008 2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011 2011/2012



Resource Consumption & Environmental Sustainability

Climate Change20


% people who:

Feel very well informed about climate change 24.0 23.0

Believe there is a real link between the energy the y use and climate change 71.0 68.0

Can feel a growing pressure to change the way they live to reduce the impact of climate change 72.0 75.0

The North Central Region, which Bendigo falls under, is to expect higher temperatures in summer, lower rainfall in Spring and fewer rainy days but increasing rainfall intensity by the year 2070 if current climate situations are to continue.21

Heatwaves can affect anyone in the population. However, there are certain groups of people who are more susceptible to the health impacts of heat than others. These include the elderly, infants and young children and other vulnerable members of the community. There is evidence that shows the rate of death and disability increases during times of extreme heat. 22

Air20


% people who:

Have used public transport, cycled or walked for sh ort trips of about 2kms 41.0 55.0

Have not travelled by plane in the last 12 months 62.0 46.0

Have travelled by plane and offset CO ² emissions 5.0 7.0



Energy20


% of households with:

Solar hot water system 8.0 3.0

Solar panels to generate electricity 3.0 2.0

Insulation 86.0 79.0

An electric clothes dryer 55.0 56.0

Two or more refrigerators 61.0 48.0

Two or more TV sets 70.0 64.0

One or more computers 83.0 84.0

Water20


% households with:

Dual-flush toilet cisterns 92.0 88.0

Water efficient, low flow showerheads 77.0 71.0

Rainwater tanks 63.0 34.0

Front loading washing machine 34.0 28.0

Professionally installed grey water recycling system 16.0 8.0

% of people who collected/recycled water 23 92.2 74.8



Waste and Recycling20


% households:

whose waste was recycled 23 27.0 43.0

Who have a bin for green/garden waste 2.0 64.0

Who often composted food/garden waste in the 12 months 52.0 44.0

Number of residential properties receiving garbage and recycling collection19

2007/2008 2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011

40,021 40,592 41,161 42,739

Tonnes of garbage and recycling collected19

Total tonnes of waste received at Eaglehawk Landfill Complex19

2007/2008 104,388

2008/2009 112,807

2009/2010 102,740

2010/2011 121,177



Food

Food Security

Greater Bendigo (%)19 Victoria (%) 23

% of people who don’t always have the type of food they want, because they are too expensive 38.1 6.0

% people who don’t always have the type of food the y want, because they can not get the variety 19.2 N/A

% of people who don’t always have the type of food they want as culturally appropriate are not availab le 10.5 N/A

% of people who don’t always have the type of food they want due to inadequate or unreliable public transport

10.4 N/A

Please note: the data for Greater Bendigo and Victoria are from two different years and data sources.

In 2008, 7.6% of the population in Greater Bendigo had run out of food in the previous 12 months and could not afford to buy more. This was higher compared to 5.6% in Victoria.8

Food and Climate Change The region has been subject to years of drought followed by extreme rain and flooding. These weather conditions have a significant impact on the types and quantity of food grown and can increase food prices dramatically. Decreased yields also put a reliance on food imports which can lead to economic and environmental issues.

Climate change presents a great challenge to our global, national, state, regional, municipal and household food security and the variety of food available to the community to ensure a healthy and balanced diet.24



References 1 World Health Organization (2003) Social Determinants of Health [online]. Available: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/ 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) 2011 Census of Housing and Population: Basic Community Profile [online]. Available: www.abs.gov.au 3 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) Greater Bendigo 2011 Census Quickstats [online]. Available: http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/LGA22620?opendocument&navpos=220 4 Goldfields Local Learning and Employment Network (2011) School Business Community Partnership Brokers Environmental Scan [online]. Available: http://www.gllen.org.au/Local_Data.asp 5 City of Greater Bendigo (2012) Bendigo Wellbeing Survey – Report Card [online]. Available: http://www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/News/Current_Projects/Bendigo_Wellbeing_Survey 6 Department of Transport (2012) Victorian Transport Atlas – Greater Bendigo [online]. Available: http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/research/statistics/victorian-transport-atlas/regional-councils 7 .id (2011) Community Profile - Building Approvals [online]. Available: http://profile.id.com.au/Default.aspx?id=134&pg=220&gid=10&type=enum 8 Bendigo Loddon Primary Care Partnership (2012) Community Health and Wellbeing Profile [online]. Available: http://www.blpcp.com.au/planning/index.aspx 9 Department of Human Services (2011) Public Housing Transfer and Waiting List [online]. Available: http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about-the-department/documents-and-resources/research,-data-and-statistics/public-housing-waiting-and-transfer-list 10 Department of Human Services (2011) Public Housing Waiting List Areas [online]. Available: http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about-the-department/documents-and-resources/reports-publications/public-housing-waiting-list-areas 11 VicHealth (2012) Disability and Health Inequalities in Australia: Research Summary [online]. Available: http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/Publications/Health-Inequalities/Disability-and-health-inequalities-in-Australia.aspx 17 City of Greater Dandenong (2012) Profiles of Victorian Communities [online]. Available: http://www.socialstatistics.com.au/ 18 Department of Health (2011) 2011 Local Government Area Profiles [online]. Available: http://www.health.vic.gov.au/modelling/planning/lga.htm 19 City of Greater Bendigo (2011) Annual Report 2010/11 [online]. Available: http://www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/News/Publications 20 Department of Sustainability and Environment (2009) 2009 Green Light Report [online]. Available: http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/www/html/3197-2009-green-light-report.asp 21 State Government of Victoria (2011) Understanding Climate Change [online]. Available: http://www.climatechange.vic.gov.au/regional-projections/north-central 22 Department of Health (2011) The population health impacts of heat [online]. Available: http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/65AE7A1D86B4E057CA25796E00061602/$FILE/The%20population%20health%20impacts%20of%20heat.pdf 23 Community Indicators Victoria (2007) Greater Bendigo Wellbeing Report [online]. Available: http://www.communityindicators.net.au/wellbeing_reports/greater_bendigo 24 Leah Galvin (2012) Food for Thought – Greater Bendigo Food Research Paper



For further information please contact the Social Planning Team on 5434 6079 or [email protected] or visit the website www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/healthandwellbeing

Sustainability Fact Sheet

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