COUNCILLORS COLUMN Feb 2008
By Cr Bob Millar
WELCOME BACK
Well, the all too short Christmas/New Year break is behind us and everyone will have been gearing up for return to work, preparing for school, keeping the weeds under control, mowing the lawns, signing the kids on for sport or for our volunteers getting ready for another year of community service. With local government elections taking place on 15th March, I look forward to the opportunity of continuing to work with the community and applying my skills and experience in meeting the challenges brought about by creation of
CLEAN UP
Your help is needed. The annual Clean Up Australia Day will be held on Sunday 2nd March. It is unfortunate that this programme is required but there are those among us who seem to think that our roadsides and public areas are a rubbish dump. Council has numerous sites across the Shire where community groups and individuals will turn out to help clean up our Shire. If you can spare a couple of hours between 8am and 11 am, please come and do your bit for our environment and join the good folk from the LIONS and APEX clubs or the Samsonvale Rural Fire Brigade who are regulars with Clean Up. You can contact either myself or Council for further details on 3480 6666.
COUNCIL BUILDS ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY
As a part of the Pine Rivers Energy Management Action Plan Council continues to build on its energy efficiency programmes with the latest initiative being the removal of a number of fluorescent tubes from lighting in hallways around the Strathpine administrative centre. The new light levels in these areas have been tested and still meet the Australian Standard AS1680. It has been calculated that this simple initiative will save around nine tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
COUNCIL OPPOSES ELEMENTS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
Your Council has recently responded to the proposed Queensland Waste Strategy discussion paper distributed by the State Government’s Environmental Protection Agency. The purpose of this discussion paper was to seek opinions on waste management, waste reduction, resource recovery and options for action, change and innovation for the future.
One of the issues raised in the discussion paper was the introduction of a landfill levy (landfill tax). If this was introduced then each household in Pine Rivers may be charged up to an additional $50 each year for waste disposal. All residents may also be charged every time they enter the landfill site to drop off their waste. As part of our submission Pine Rivers Shire Council strongly opposed the introduction of any form of landfill tax. Your Council has implemented numerous waste minimisation initiatives/activities and operates two (2) state-of-the-art engineered designed landfills. Council has spent considerable amounts of money to achieve our current high standards. The introduction of any levy would only impose an unnecessary tax on our residents with no additional benefit to our operations.
DAYBORO SOCCER FIELD KICKS OFF
One of the most rewarding experiences of my time on Council has been working with the various groups that are the stakeholders of the historic Dayboro War Memorial grounds to bring about a more functional structure to better meet the community’s sporting, recreational and social needs into the future. As this edition of the Grapevine hits the streets, we will have officially opened the new Soccer field which was the major part of a $300,000 project to provide Dayboro district with additional sporting facilities and create additional space for the many activities that take place on these grounds. Completion of this project will be followed in the next few months by bitumen sealing of the internal roads around the showground and sporting precinct to remove dust problems for neighbours and improve the overall amenity of the complex.
D’AGUILAR BIOSPHERE
I have, for the last 12 months or so, been serving on a working group investigating the establishment of Queensland’s second UNESCO sponsored biosphere along and around the D’Aguilar Range, the environmental values of which will take on increasing importance as the South East Corner of the State continues to grow. A project officer has been working on the proposal for some time with the funded support of a number of State Government departments and adjoining councils. An information evening is being organised for mid March by the Dayboro LIONS club in conjunction with the working group and I would encourage anyone interested in both our environment and the exciting opportunities a biosphere listing with the United Nations can provide. In simple terms it is all about improved management for the designated region but in no way places greater constraints on the activities of those who may have private landholdings within the region. Keep your eyes out for further details.
DID YOU KNOW?
That each year a random sample of residents in the Shire are surveyed on behalf of Council to gain their views and opinions and to help guide it on the provision and delivery of Council services. This process is yet another way in which Council and its representatives engage with the community.
