FOI bombshell exposes Bendigo Showgrounds deception

Freedom of Information documents reveal Bendigo Council misled both the public and Government about consultation on the controversial Showgrounds master plan. Dale Webster reports.

DOCUMENTS RELEASED under Freedom of Information have revealed that, contrary to statements made to ratepayers and the media, the City of Greater Bendigo was fully responsible for the Bendigo Showgrounds master plan project and had told the Government it would undertake a significantly greater level of consultation than it delivered.

The documents also reveal the funding for the master plan was granted on the basis that key stakeholder groups such as the Bendigo Steam and Oil Preservation Group, Sheep and Wool Show and other groups based at the showgrounds would have a place on a “Project Control Group” and have equal say on critical elements of the project along with the Bendigo Agricultural Show Society, Development Victoria and the Council.

These critical elements included defining the scope and Terms of Reference for consultation and engagement.

Despite the completed master plan clearly showing community involvement fell well short of commitments made by the City of Greater Bendigo in its funding application, Regional Development Victoria not only signed off on the grant acquittal without question, but it even coached the Council on what to write to pass the final evaluation.

This information throws the Victorian Government’s Bendigo Showgrounds Redevelopment Project that is now underway into even deeper controversy, confirming statements by showgrounds stakeholders that there had been no consultation undertaken before the key works were put out for tender are correct.

The documents

A Freedom of Information request was lodged with the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR) on May 9, 2025. It asked for documents related to the Bendigo Showgrounds master plan project from 2018-19, including grant applications, executed grant agreements, grant acquittal reports, any written or electronic correspondence related to the grant awards, ministerial briefs and payment records.

Also requested were funding agreements for works to be undertaken as part of Sport and Recreation Victoria‘s current $19.1 million Bendigo Showgrounds Redevelopment Project, all submissions received during the project’s community engagement round from 6 March to 3 April 2025 and the consultation report as required under clause 52.3 of the Bendigo Planning Scheme (State Projects).

The notice of decision to release this information in part came through on 8 July 2025. Still, the department stated that the City of Greater Bendigo had disagreed with its decision and, as a result, the documents could not be accessed for another two months. During that time, contractors were appointed and project works commenced.

The key documents linked to the master plan that have been released are:

1. the grant application submitted by the City of Greater Bendigo to Regional Development Victoria in 2018 for $50,000 to develop a master plan for the Bendigo Showgrounds;
2. ministerial correspondence, including the reasons why the master plan project was being recommended for funding and the letter advising the grant application had been successful;
3. the master plan project funding agreement;
4. a record of email correspondence between the department and the City of Greater Bendigo during the master plan project;
5. the completion report submitted by the City of Greater Bendigo to the department to finalise and acquit the master plan project grant; and
6. the engagement summary from the 2025 Bendigo Showgrounds Redevelopment Project.

Some of the documents are heavily redacted but the message the City of Greater Bendigo wanted to give the Government, and the Government’s understanding of what was to be delivered, is still very clear — this was to be a project that would break new ground in community consultation, delivering a true vision of what the Bendigo community wanted for the future of its showgrounds.

1. Grant application

In July 2018, the City of Greater Bendigo applied for a $50,000 grant from Regional Development Victoria under its Stronger Regional Communities Plan (Community Capacity Building stream).

The money was to be used to part-fund a project to develop a master plan and business case for the Prince of Wales Showgrounds in Holmes Road. Another $50,000 of ratepayer and community money would bring the total value of the project to $100,000.

The purpose of the master plan would be to ‘provide a clear pathway forward for the future business operations of the Bendigo Showgrounds and provide the evidence to support decisions to invest in development of the facility’.

This evidence was to be collected through ‘comprehensive engagement’ with a ‘wide group of stakeholders that would otherwise not be engaged with planning of this nature’.

The application listed several key user groups, stating a plan would ‘need to provide for a wide range of needs’.

“Comprehensive engagement with all current and potential user groups is therefore a requirement to completing a Masterplan that will be embraced by the community and allow the venue to be developed for a successful future,” Council’s Manager of Business Services (name redacted) said on behalf of Chief Executive Craig Niemann.

The application is littered with similar statements:

The engagement and planning process will build community capacity by encouraging and providing opportunities for a wide range of stakeholders to contribute towards planning for future growth in the region’s events infrastructure.

 

The study will also provide the opportunity for the community of potential users to participate in decision-making.

 

The project will also include wide-ranging, in-depth engagement with a number (of) current and potential users of the Bendigo Showgrounds. This will help to develop an evidence-based, informed Masterplan and Business Case that will provide a clear pathway for the future of the Bendigo Showgrounds.

The application provided detailed information on the responsibilities of a “Project Control Group” that would oversee the project from start to finish, stating that its role would include: 

• defining scope and Terms of Reference for consultation and engagement;
• appointing a suitably qualified consultant to undertake consultation;
• establishing realistic timeframes and monitoring delivery against the project;
• communicating and promoting the project to relevant stakeholders and user groups;
• working with the reference group to ensure technical needs of the site are considered;
• review and endorse draft project documentation; and
• monitoring project performance.

It also listed who would be represented on the Project Control Group and have a seat at the table when decisions were being made about the development of the master plan:

• City of Greater Bendigo;
• Bendigo Agricultural Show Society;
• Bendigo Steam and Oil Preservation Group Museum;
• Australian Sheep Breeders Association — Australian Sheep and Wool Show;
• Bendigo Leisurefest Roadshow; 
• Regional Development Victoria; and
• other local clubs based at showgrounds.

(There were nine main clubs based at the showgrounds at that time. Ones not directly mentioned in the application include the Veteran, Vintage and Classic Car Club of Bendigo that runs the Bendigo Swap Meet, Bendigo Garden Club, Bendigo Poultry Club, the Bendigo branch of the Avicultural Society of Australia and the Bendigo Bricks Lego group.)

Council said a “reference group” consisting of key user groups would also be established to guide the appointed consultant and the Project Control Group on the technical requirements for the site. It said reference group membership would be expanded and amended as appropriate and necessary.

‘The project will be collaborative in nature, managed by the City of Greater Bendigo and overseen by a Project Control Group consisting of key community members,’ the grant application said. ‘The City of Greater Bendigo will be responsible for reporting and managing the delivery of this project.’

2. Ministerial correspondence

In correspondence from the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR) dated August 20, 2018, the Minister for Regional Development, Jaala Pulford, was given the funding recommendations for the Stronger Regional Communities Plan for that year.

The Bendigo Showgrounds master plan project was being supported and a brief summary explained why it met the ‘community capacity building’ objectives. 

‘The funding will enable council to undertake deep and extensive community consultations with diverse user groups who would not otherwise be engaged in planning activities,’ Minister Pulford was told.

The depth of consultation promised was highlighted as a reason for the project being recommended for funding.

‘The project will engage with the showground’s diverse multiple user groups and consult potential future users of the site, providing them with an opportunity to participate in decision making for any future facilities development,’ the Minister was told.

Ms Pulford signed off on the project funding on 23 August 2018, wishing “Craig” (Chief Executive Craig Niemann) every success and saying that she looked forward to hearing about the outcomes of his project.  

3. The funding agreement

The funding contract between DEDJTR and the City of Bendigo for the master plan project was finalised on 10 October 2018.

As acting chief executive, Bernie O’Sullivan agreed council would lead and manage the “Bendigo Showgrounds consultation and engagement project”, with the planning process to engage with the showground’s diverse user groups, including the community who would not otherwise be engaged in planning activities.

The contract stated these groups included, but were not limited to:

• Bendigo Agricultural Show Society;
• Australian Sheep Breeders Association — Australian Sheep and Wool Show;
• Bendigo Steam and Oil Preservation Group Museum;
• Bendigo Leisure Fest Roadshow;
• promoters of major events such as Groovin’ the Moo;
• local clubs based at showgrounds; and
• Greater Bendigo City Council.

The contract also stated council would engage a consultant to undertake the project and that the consultant would compile a report detailing findings and key recommendations for council and the Project Control Group.

It was an explicit term of the contract that the project engage all relevant stakeholders and user groups and that the findings of that engagement inform the development of the master plan and business case.

In the finer detail, there were clauses stating:

• the funding application formed part of the funding agreement and that the activity delivered must be consistent with that document; and
• funding would only be paid after evidence demonstrating that council had completed agreed actions was provided and accepted.

The date set for council to report the findings of the engagement with key stakeholders was 6 May 2019.

4. Correspondence

Some items of correspondence between the City of Greater Bendigo and DEDJTR about the project were included in the FOI document release.

The emails mainly centre around reporting on project milestones and it is not known if this is a complete record. For instance, there was no correspondence related to a report on stakeholder engagement being submitted in May 2019 as required.

Several of the emails are from the November-December 2019 period and relate to milestone reporting being overdue and the finalisation of the project.

In the emails, a department representative coaches the City of Bendigo on wording to use, sending a document with ‘suggested changes to the Progress Report and Project Plan’ and returning the online report back to ‘make the edits’.  

Suggested responses to a question in the completion report were also provided.

The emails confirm that the City of Greater Bendigo sent a final copy of the Bendigo Showgrounds master plan and Business Case to DEDJTR on 23 December 2019.

5. Completion report

The City of Greater Bendigo submitted the final project evaluation report to DEDJTR on 15 January 2020.

What stands out in this document is that the information in the section addressing “what the project will achieve” that was supposed to align with what was written in the grant application (the form even directs council to refer back to its original response before answering) does not match the grant application.

The information is significantly different.

There is no mention of consultation and new goals have been introduced.

For example, this objective has been left out:

‘The project will engage with the showground’s diverse multiple user groups and consult potential future users of the site, providing them with an opportunity to participate in decision-making for any future facilities development.’

And these objectives have been introduced:

Ensure the master plan is creative and contemporary yet achievable and practical.

 

Ensure the master plan aligns to the Bendigo tourism market.

 

Ensure the master plan is appealing for government funding and explore potential funding streams.

There is a section where council is required to ‘describe the broader outcomes of the project including any unanticipated outcomes’.

Council is asked to provide evidence and/or data that demonstrates the project had met the anticipated outcomes and again was directed to read the information it provided in the ‘Why is the activity needed?’ section in the grant application before answering.

This section in the grant application contained just over 1,000 words. It is where council told the department/minister, ‘comprehensive engagement with all current and potential user groups is therefore a requirement to completing a Masterplan that will be embraced by the community and allow the venue to be developed for a successful future’.

It is also where it said the project ‘will strongly support engagement with a wide group of stakeholders that would otherwise not be engaged with planning of this nature’ and ‘the engagement and planning process will build community capacity by encouraging and providing opportunities for a wide range of stakeholders to contribute towards planning for future growth in the region’s events infrastructure’.

The response provided by council in the completion report was just 111 words and no supporting evidence was provided.

This is all it wrote:

Bendigo Showgrounds and City of Greater Bendigo have worked collaboratively on developing the plan for future development. A key opportunity identified is the possibility of using the facility for local sporting events and both parties will continue to advocate for developing the facility as well as work with Vic Roads on amending the permit conditions on site. The continued collaboration will be integral to ensure the growth of the site and further maximising the potential that could be unlocked with further development. This activity was needed to assess market, identify opportunities and threats to the Bendigo Showgrounds and also enable a strong evidence based framework for future upgrade and renewal works.

Council was then asked to describe the key factor/s that contributed to the success of the project.

Its answer was even more succinct: ‘Getting all stakeholders together regularly throughout the project.’

The final question in the evaluation was to describe the biggest challenges and/or learnings from the project.

Council made just two comments:

• Legacy items from previous developments and getting all stakeholders to be able to look at the big picture opportunities.
• Differing views on what the precinct could be used for in the future and how new uses might conflict with the historical use of the facility.

Like the grant application, it was signed by the City of Greater Bendigo’s Manager of Business Services (name redacted).

This is part one of the story. Stay tuned for part two tomorrow, Thursday 23 October.

Dale Webster is an inaugural recipient of a Walkley Foundation Grant for Freelance Journalism on Regional Australia. This article was originally published on The Regional and has been republished with permission. You can follow Dale on Twitter @TheRegional_au.