The Greater Geelong Council has voted not to send the Mayor on a proposed international delegation in September.
A report considered by the Council on Tuesday night proposed that Mayor Trent Sullivan and a City officer visit Changwon City in South Korea, before travelling to the annual UNESCO Creative Cities Network conference in Istanbul, Türkiye.
The report also proposed visits to fellow UNESCO Cities of Design Kortrijk (Belgium) and Dundee (Scotland).
Councillors voted 5-3 to oppose the trip, citing a variety of reasons including the $25,000 cost and poor timing given current budgetary constraints.
An alternative motion to maintain the Changwon City and Istanbul components of the trip but remove the visits to Kortrijk and Dundee was also defeated 5-3.
Councillors Melissa Cadwell, Sarah Hathway, Jim Mason, Peter Murrihy and Belinda Moloney voted to oppose the trip, while Mayor Trent Sullivan, Deputy Mayor Anthony Aitken and Councillor Stephanie Asher voted in favour.
Councillor Eddy Kontelj declared a conflict of interest and did not vote, while Councillors Ron Nelson and Bruce Harwood were apologies for the meeting.
The visit to Changwon City was put forward in the context of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korean port city signed in 2022, and interest and investment from Korean based companies in Geelong in our innovative manufacturing sector.
Attendance at the UNESCO Creative Cities Network annual conference was proposed to enable Geelong to meet the obligations of its UNESCO City of Design designation.
Mayor Trent Sullivan
As Mayor, I am deeply committed to upholding our obligations to UNESCO and Korea, both of which bring great economic and cultural benefit to Greater Geelong.
We will continue to work on clever and creative ways to bring the world to Geelong.
