Welcome to Co-operatively Speaking. This issue contains lots of great articles and information about training opportunities, films, recipes, and more. We also have heartwarming updates from co-op members who are finding positivity in some aspects of home-based living and working.
For many Victorians, we have recently spent our 100th day in lockdown. This has been a long and sometimes very hard experience for many of us. Physical isolation does not need to mean social isolation, and this is an important time to learn new ways to stay connected through phone calls, video calls and online group chats. CEHL is continuing to help co-ops move to safe online meetings and alternative decision-making opportunities so that your co-op can stay connected during this time.
Welcome new co-op members
Over the past 12 months we welcomed 84 new co-op members across 56 co-ops, that have allowed a total of 213 new household members into our amazing program. If this is your first edition of Co-operatively Speaking I wish you a warm welcome!
International Day of Co-operatives
The theme for International Day of Co-operatives 2020 is combating climate change and highlighting the work that co-operatives do to promote sustainability and ethical practices. The Business Council for Cooperatives and Mutuals has highlighted the inspiring achievements of Tasmanian ‘Resource Work co-op’ in this space.
Board and Board Committee updates
On the CEHL member portal, co-op members have access to Shareholder reports for all CEHL Board meetings. Anyone following these will already know that this has been a very busy 12 months for CEHL!
Property Committee
- With Future Direction Plans (FDP) now substantially completed, many regions are seeing new developments under construction and more in the pipeline
- Currently 36 properties are in the pipeline of development across nine projects in Geelong, Melbourne and Frankston. This includes a 16 unit building in Brunswick that has just received planning approval.
Finance and Risk Committee
- A focus on efficient spending and interest management has delivered great benefits to the program this year, and stepped towards a stronger financial future
- CEHL’s Capital Investment Strategy is now delivering in excess of $250,000 of net revenue to the program each year, as well as providing moderate-income Victorian households with affordable housing
- CEHL has recently secured a low-interest bond with the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) that will save us in excess of $4M over the next 12 years
Policy Advisory Committee
- Co-op members have provided important input to many program policies over the past 12 months. These policies ensure that CEHL resources and co-op support are provided equitably and fairly to co-ops and tenancies in our program.
People, Culture and Governance Committee
- An independent review of CEHL governance has recently been completed. The review found that CEHL currently has excellent governance processes and identified opportunities to continue to refine and adapt our governance so that we can keep on delivering value to co-ops in an ever-changing world.
Co-op Program Committee
- In July the first meeting of the new Co-op Program Committee will be held. The Board has recently recruited an independent Chairperson for this committee and nominated Board Directors Gordon Keiselbach and Brodie Woodland to join the co-op members who will shortly be confirmed for this group.
Thank you
Thank you to the many co-ops and individuals who have reached out with kind words and support for CEHL staff in the past few weeks. Staff have been working extremely hard to support all of our member co-ops and direct tenants during the Coronavirus disruption. It has been heartening to see co-ops with renewed commitment to working together with CEHL to overcome our shared challenges.
Stay safe, stay well, and stay in touch.
Yours in co-operation
Heidi Lee
Chairperson
CEHL Board