The 2019 Annual Perception Survey has now closed. Thank you for having your say!

The winners of the annual Perception Draw - two travel vouchers valued at $1000 each - were Tania Parson and Adam McLeod.

A summary of results will be released to the community in the coming months.

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Our annual perception survey - Live it, Tell it, Do it! closes at 6:00pm on Thursday 5 December.

Last year, more than 1000 of you filled out a survey as part of the Live It, Tell It, Do It! campaign. Your responses helped us shape our priorities and budgets over the past year.

We want you to tell us again to allow us to gauge our performance against our Strategic Community Plan and get a clear understanding of what’s important to you.

The survey will only take around  10 minutes and participants will have the chance to WIN one of two flight vouchers valued at $1000 each!* 

Good reasons to take part in the survey:

1. Gives you the chance to have your say as a resident on what you want your town to look like

2. Guides the Town of Port Hedland's decision making process

3. Tracks the organisation’s progress against the Strategic Community Plan 2018-2028’s KPIs

4. Identifies areas which require more attention, funding and resources in future budgets

5. Fosters a more responsive and transparent Local Government process

*T&Cs apply. Applicants must be 18 years or over. One entry per person.

Background:

In 2017, the Town of Port Hedland undertook the most comprehensive engagement exercise in its history. The Live it, Tell it survey collected over 5800 local community responses from across the community, forming the foundation of the Strategic Community Plan (SCP) 2018-2028.  The process gave Elected Members and the Executive Team an accurate snapshot of the attitudes of residents and where they wanted their Town to be in the future.

Following on from this survey’s success, the Town rolled out the Live it, Tell it, Do it perception survey in 2018. and following its success we are continuing in 2019. We wanted to know how we were tracking in line with meeting the objectives set out in the SCP. In 2018, a total of 1002 responses were received, from an online survey and direct community engagement. Broadly, these were some of the key findings:

• People are generally optimistic about living in Hedland and enjoy our lifestyle
• People highly regard waste management services and are happy with their kerbside collection service
• People rate annual events highly and are enthusiastic about more future community engagement opportunities

However, there were some identified areas which the community wishes to see improvement in. These include:

• Safety and anti-social behaviour, drugs and alcohol are a concern in South Hedland
• Concerns about the lack of Child Care facilities in town
• Concerns about litter and the need for further town beautification
• A desire for better lighting across the Town and better boating amenities

Demographic Sample from across Hedland:

Where do you live?

Do you identify as?

How old are you? 

Do you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander? 

Key insights uncovered from survey:

• The majority of respondents projected their residency in Hedland to last between either 3-5 years or more than 10 years, suggesting the need for long term thinking in Elected Member and Executive Team decision making
• Around 78% of respondents reside in Hedland for career of business reasons, with a sizable proportion (48%) citing the friendliness of the community
• On a scale of 1-5, 40% of respondents rated their experience of Port Hedland as a 3, pointing to both a livable community and the need for improvements
• On a scale of 1-5, 41% of respondents rated 3 as to whether Hedland has improved in the last 12 months
• There is clearly a need to encourage more volunteerism, with nearly 40% or respondents indicating they have spend no time volunteering in the last 12 months
• A strong sense of community pride underpins Hedland, with over 50% of respondents rating a 4 or 5 on this scale
• There is widespread satisfaction with library and youth services
• Respondents were generally satisfied with the Town's communication, however there is a greater desire to improve consultation processes
• There was positive feedback for the Town's roster of events, including Spinifex Spree and Northwest Festival
• Street and public open space lighting and boating amenitities rated relatively low
• The recently constructed Netball Pavilion received positive feedback 
• Across the areas of transparency, financial management and leadership, there is a need to improve communication on the successes in these areas
• The average scores for moving around town at night (2.39) and walking in public spaces at night time (2.14) indicate the importance of improving public safety and crime reduction initiatives
• High percentages of respondents cited antisocial behaviour, property theft, vandalism, alcohol abuse and drug abuse as making them feel unsafe
•  Despite the high scores on anti-social behaviour, a weighted score of 3.23 was recorded for people generally feeling safe in the  community
• The perception of the role of Local Government is changing: nearly 55% want the Town to take a more active role in Tourism and 56% want a more active role in safety
• There is a need to improve the reputation of Hedland