Victoria’s top accolade for a young planning professional has been awarded to East Gippsland Shire Council Planning Officer Kyra Collins.

Kyra was named Young Planner of the Year at the Planning Institute of Australia (Victorian Division) Awards for Excellence.

The awards event, held at Zinc in Melbourne’s Fed Square on Friday 11 November, was attended by approximately250 planning professionals from across Victoria.

Mayor Cr Mark Reeves praised Kyra for her work and award.

“Kyra is a respected and knowledgeable young planner. She’s the type of planner we want to attract and retain in East Gippsland as she makes recommendations that serve the interests of Council, community and the environment,” Cr Reeves said.

“Councillors are proud of Kyra’s accomplishments in her first year of professional practice and congratulate her on the award.”

In their citation, the panel stated: “Kyra regularly participates in key process improvement projects across Council and actively seeks to improve communication with the local community.”

In accepting the award, Kyra thanked the Institute for recognising the role of statutory planning.

“It’s not always the most glamourous part of our profession, you’re often on the front line with people who don’t necessarily agree with your decisions. Thank you to PIA for supporting young planners in the regions, but also statutory planning more generally.”

Kyra is now up for consideration for the PIA National Young Planner of the Year award, to be held concurrently with the PIA National Congress in May2023 in Adelaide.

Kyra was promoted to Statutory Planning Officer in February 2022 and has significantly contributed to reducing the number of active planning applications under consideration by Council.

Council also congratulated the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation and Parks Victoria for their shared Award for Excellence in the category Planning with Country for the Bung Yarnda (Lake Tyers) Camping and Access Strategy.

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