Mayoral Column 23 October 2017
Published on 23 October 2017
Regional Floodplain Management draft strategy
The North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is currently developing its Regional Floodplain Management Strategy (RFMS) and after months of community consultation wants to hear from the community prior to finalising the strategy.
The RFMS interprets and applies the policies, actions and accountabilities called for by the Victorian Flood Management Strategy. The Victorian Government has committed $25 million funding to support the implementation of this state-wide flood management strategy.
Community feedback to the RFMS is to ensure identified regional and local actions meet community expectations. These actions will greatly assist the North Central CMA, councils and VicSES prioritise future floodplain management works across the region.
Council is continuing to work with the North Central CMA around planning and completing much-needed flood mitigation works in our Shire.
Community members can provide their feedback at two drop-in sessions in our Shire. The North Central CMA would like to hear from community members who have been involved in the document’s consultation or from anyone interested in the strategy’s development.
The first community drop-in session will be on Monday 30 October from 10am to 12pm at the Serpentine Bowling Club. The second session will be on Thursday 2 November from 4pm to 6pm at the Boort Resource and Information Centre.
There will also be a community drop-in session in Kerang on Friday 3 November from 10am to 12pm at the AgVic Office in Wellington Street.
To download a copy of the draft RFMS or for further information, visit www.nccma.vic.gov.au or call Shaun Morgan on 03 5440 1896.
Free waste disposal days in November
At its September meeting Council resolved to implement "fee" free waste disposal days at our local landfills and transfer stations. The new initiative will see these “fee” free waste disposal days held once every quarter.
The first “fee” free waste disposal day in this quarter will be held on Saturday 18 November at the Inglewood Transfer Station from 8am to 12pm.
The next will be Sunday 19 November at Boort (1pm to 5pm), Pyramid Hill (8am to 12pm), and Newbridge (1pm to 5pm) landfills, and Wedderburn (8am to 12pm) and Dingee (10am to 2pm) transfer stations.
You will be able to dispose of up to four cubic metres of general domestic waste free of charge, including green waste, mixed recyclables and general household waste.
However, charges will still apply for tyres, bricks and concrete, refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners, mattresses and e-waste. This is because these items have additional third party costs associated with their disposal.
Remember to bring your licence or rates notice to verify your address so you can avail yourself of this new service.
NBN local team
While the NBN has certainly been in the media a lot lately, there is some good news, with the announcement from NBN regarding the introduction of a new team called “nbn local”. This new team will be dedicated to improving the customer experience on the NBN access network for regional and remote Australia.
According to NBN, there will be dedicated resources for local communities around the country. The team will work with local stakeholders and community groups to help ensure local problems with the NBN are identified early and addressed.