Cardinia Compass is the result of a long process of development by members of Cardinia’s diverse range of communities, and the indicators (link back to Indicators page) adopted try to reflect the full range of their affinities, desires and aspirations.

The semi-rural nature of the landscape was identified as one of the prime elements that attracted people to live in the area, and communities wished to maintain this atmosphere alongside development of the suburban growth corridor. So this has implications for indicators of the natural environment, and for the industry profile deemed desirable for some areas of the Shire. But will semi-rural industries be economically viable into the future? What needs to be done to ensure their sustainability? Or what other industry developments need to occur that will sustain the local persona, yet maintain economic viability and vitality of the region.

So the indicators look to measure growth towards the future. To measure the traits, qualities, profile and image of the urban landscape, society, social economy and type of community we want to plan for our region. So they are an aggregate of lots of things that relate to the common threads of the Cardinia Compass:

Natural Environment - Public infrastructure and its use, transport, condition of waterways, seagrass, water consumption, biodiversity, materials efficiency, recycling, waste, landfill, and energy use.
Social Vitality - Social networks, participation in community groups/clubs, family structure, facilities and venues, trust and safety, crime, tolerance, altruism, volunteer rates, civic involvement, council representation.
Economic Health - Business diversity, adaptability, training and education, resources, utility costs, retail spending, employment and income.
Wellbeing - recreation facilities, youth support, emergency assistance, housing, aged care, health care facilities, homelessness, life expectancy, health levels, fitness, nutrition, activities, quality of life

The attached paper (need link to Monash paper. I don’t have a copy, and it has been removed from Council website). was produced in 2001 by Monash University (Geography and Environmental Science Department) students as an initial step defining the range of things that could/should be measured to assess sustainable growth of the region.

And some of these things have now been measured! So how does Cardinia stack up? (link to highlights) What does our community look like? Where do we shine, and what things do we need to address?