Hobsons Bay Council and Toyota Australia have won an Australian Business Arts Foundation award for the Bayside Festival. The Prime Minister, John Howard, and the CEO’s of 50 large Australian companies attended a ceremonial dinner for the national awards presentation in Sydney on 7 August. There were more than 130 nominees, with three finalists chosen in each of the 12 categories.
Council, Toyota and the Bayside Festival Committee won the KPMG Advance Bank Partnership Award for their collaboration on the 2003 festival, held at Altona on Port Phillip Bay in March.
The Partnership Award recognises businesses that support the arts by giving advice rather than traditional cash donations. The Toyota plant at Altona in the City of Hobson’s Bay has pioneered a program linking its employees with local community groups. Fire Officer, Ron Evans, volunteered to conduct a risk assessment and safety audit of the Bayside Festival site.
Co-chair of Council’s Arts and Culture Advisory Group, Mayor Bill Baarini, said the award was a credit to the groups that collaborated on the festival.
“The members of the Bayside Festival Committee, Toyota and Council are to be congratulated for their dedication to this long standing community event,” he said. “This national award was recognition of the innovative collaboration achieved by Council and its local partners, both industry and not-for-profit groups. To receive this prestigious award is a wonderful acknowledgment of the hours put in to making the Bayside Festival a success year after year. I look forward to seeing the benefits of future collaborations between Council, the community and local industry,”
