Loddon Shire Mayoral Column 4 May 2020
Published on 04 May 2020
Loddon Shire COVID-19 updates
There has generally been good news over the past week or so, with reported numbers of new COVID-19 cases dropping across Victoria and the whole of Australia. While some states are beginning to talk about gradual easing of restrictions, at the moment in Victoria, the stay at home requirement remains in place.
This means that you may only leave home for food and supplies, medical care and care giving, exercise and work or education. There have been reports of some people starting to return to normal activities; however it is too early for this.
The government will direct a gradual easing of restrictions when the time is right to avoid an increase in the spread of the virus. At this stage, restrictions remain in place until revised on 11 May. I urge everyone to do the right thing and try not to look for loopholes.
Council is working hard to continue to provide essential services and working on recovery measures. Works in the outdoors have been able to continue, with construction of footpaths in Wedderburn and Boort completed and those in Inglewood and Bridgewater nearing completion.
All details about Council’s COVID-19 response may be found at the dedicated web page: www.loddon.vic.gov.au/covid-19. For accurate information about what you can and cannot do under Stage 3 restrictions, check with the Department of Health and Human Services website: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus.
Council meeting
The State Government recently passed the COV-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Bill 2020 in order to implement a range of temporary emergency measures to support Victorians.
The legislation amended the Local Government Act 2020 to allow virtual meetings for local councils to carry out their work remotely from 1 May. This is a common-sense approach to physical distancing measures to enable Councillors and staff to fulfill their duties without compromising their health. We intend to implement this approach for the May Council meeting.
Voucher system for fee free waste disposal
At the April Council meeting, we voted to implement a voucher system to replace the fee free waste disposal days. This is was in response to a number of issues that have arisen since the program was implemented at the end of 2017.
Many residents had found it inconvenient to save up their waste until the quarterly disposal day. This also resulted in long delays and congestion at the sites, stress on our staff and ultimately led to less sorting of waste and recyclables. We also heard that for a variety of reasons, residents would sometimes miss out on attending the disposal day.
In response to community feedback, Council has decided that a voucher system would give residents greater flexibility to dispose of their waste at their convenience and spread out the pressures on our landfills and transfer stations.
The voucher system will be introduced and delivered to residents through the annual rates notice process. Residents who are renting will be advised to contact the landlord or property owner to obtain a voucher. The final fee free sessions will be the days that are currently scheduled for 16 May at Inglewood and 17 May at Wedderburn, Pyramid Hill, Dingee, Boort and Newbridge.
Other Council meeting items
Other matters resolved at the recent Council meeting included the agreement to advertise the Draft Budget and changes to fees and charges for public exhibition and submissions.
The completed Pyramid Hill Community Centre Master Plan and Feasibility Study was presented and will now be submitted to Regional Development Victoria.
In addition, Council reaffirmed its commitment to the Victorian Local Government Women’s Charter (VLGWC), which was adopted by Council in February 2019. Council agreed to progress actions by appointing Cr Colleen Condliffe and Council Officer Janine Jackson as Charter Champions and displaying the Charter in council premises.
The VLGWC aims to increase women’s participation in local government as citizens, candidates and councillors. It is based on three principles: gender equity, diversity and active citizenship.
Community Grant applications extended
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some groups have experienced difficulty finalising and lodging their applications for the Community Grants. Therefore the closing date has been extended until 5.00pm on Monday 1 June 2020.
Visit the website for more information, including the application guidelines and details on how to apply: https://www.loddon.vic.gov.au/For-residents/Community-support/Council-grants.
Staying connected with the library
As mentioned in a previous Mayoral Column, the Goldfields Libraries are doing everything they can to stay connected with communities during COVID-19 restrictions. The library serves as an important social connector for many people in our community.
The library staff are working hard to make more of the collection available to more people by increasing e-book and e-audio collections and boosting online music and film streaming services.
Work has also commenced on how to gradually restore services once easing of restrictions begins. This may include limited access to the collection using a ‘click and collect’ process.
If you are at home with small children, you might like to watch the online Storytime sessions. There is a big range to choose from with new ones added all the time. Favourite library storytellers have recorded sessions to allow children to read, sing and dance along at home.
Join in at the library website https://www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au/storytimes, it’s open to everyone. It’s also easy to sign up if you would like to receive the Goldfields Libraries newsletter, https://www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au/newsletter.
Agriculture webinars
Farmers in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID) are encouraged to sign up for a program to build their farm business skills.
The program ‘Financial literacy for farm business decision-making’ will focus on the basics of farm business management and simple ways of identifying the current farm business position.
The program will commence with a two-hour webinar and then participants will be offered the opportunity to take part in individual sessions, delivered remotely. The individual sessions will explore basic historic and current financial performance of the participant’s farm.
Registrations are essential for the program which is delivered free of charge by Agriculture Victoria. Webinars for Goulburn Murray will be held on 18 and 19 May with other dates for different areas. For more information and registration details, go to agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons.
A reminder that the regional climate webinar for GMID will take place on Tuesday 12 May. The webinar will look at climate drivers in the region, the current regional forecast and how models have performed for some recent climate events.
The webinar will be presented by Dale Grey who is Agriculture Victoria’s Seasonal Risk Agronomist with over 14 years’ experience. Register or join the webinar at https://bit.ly/3eTeT2F or call Sarah Clack for more information 0417 316 345.
Housing for seniors
Loddon Shire Council manages a number of 1 or 2 bedroom self-contained units, providing accommodation to older residents in Dingee, Pyramid Hill and Serpentine.
Council’s Elderly Persons’ Units (EPU’s) support residents in the Shire to stay close to friends, family and their support networks as they age.
Unit leases are on an ongoing basis with rental set annually by Council and based on the type of unit.
We currently have a vacancy in Grevillea Court, King Street, Dingee. If you, or someone you know may be eligible for the accommodation, please visit our website for more information https://www.loddon.vic.gov.au/For-residents/Services-for-our-older-residents-and-people-with-disabilities/Housing-for-seniors.
Did you know
If you notice that Telstra service pit lids in the footpaths in our towns are damaged or needing attention, the correct authority to notify is Telstra, not Council.
If you are concerned about a Telstra pit please lodge a report https://say.telstra.com.au/customer/general/forms/report-damage-to-telstra-equipment in order to have the issue rectified.