Upper Yarra Mail - Tuesday 19th September.

Upper Yarra Mail - Tuesday 19th September.

Community feedback sought for local laws review

The Yarra Ranges community has a once in a decade opportunity to give feedback on current local laws, including burning off, scare guns and roadside trading, during Council’s Local Laws Review.
Follow link to find out more and have your say.

Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers show support for timber industries.

Media Statement - 12 September 2017

Ministerial forestry statement

Senator the Hon. Anne Ruston

Senator the Hon. Anne Ruston, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources 
The Hon. Paul Toole MP, New South Wales Minister for Lands and Forestry
The Hon. Jaala Pulford MLC, Victorian Minister for Agriculture
The Hon. Leon Bignell MP, South Australian Minister for Forests
The Hon. Dave Kelly MLA, Western Australian Minister for Forestry
The Hon. Guy Barnett MP, Tasmanian Minister for Resources
The Hon. Ken Vowles MLA, Northern Territory Minister for Primary Industry and Resources
Mr Mick Gentleman MLA, Australian Capital Territory Minister for the Environment and Heritage

We, the Commonwealth, state and territory forestry ministers, strongly support Australia's forestry industries. We believe that they have an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable and prosperous future.

We collectively endorse the objectives of the Forest Industry Advisory Council's report, 'Transforming Australia's forest products industry'. We strongly support its vision that the forestry industries will lead the transition to a bioeconomy of which Australians can be proud and the objectives of:

• having the right trees in the right place at the right scale

• producing bioproducts using all parts of the tree to a cellular level

• being environmentally friendly, socially responsible and valued by the community.

We value the industries' significant contribution to Australia's wellbeing.
The forestry industries provide jobs in regional economies across Australia. It is an innovative sector, providing new products and ongoing employment in regional Australia, today and into the future.

We recognise that the industries source wood from sustainably managed forests.

We support the sustainable management of Australia's native forests, and through this, providing timber resources for industry while protecting high value native forests.

We recognise that the forestry industries strive to balance their resource use with the maintenance of environmental and societal values.

We believe that Australia's forestry industries have an important role to play in transitioning to a lower carbon economy. Sustainable forest management and the use of emerging forest products and technologies will play an important role in delivering this future for all Australians.

We support collaboration and cooperation among all governments and industry to achieve shared outcomes.

We commit to working together to ensure the ongoing future of Australia's forestry industries.

Preventative Health Checks Save Lives - a message from Cr Jim Child

The importance of preventative health checks was brought home to me recently.  After a check up with my doctor, I was advised to take a precautionary colonoscopy after a bowel test came back negative. The doctor then delivered the news no one wants to hear: I have bowel cancer.

I recently had surgery to remove a tumour, which will be followed by chemotherapy treatment.

My prognosis is good – the doctors expect to be able to remove the tumour, and are confident the cancer has not spread. So things are looking positive.

Others are perhaps not so lucky when receiving this news.

This diagnosis has given me an opportunity to raise awareness about the prevalence of bowel cancer, and the importance of bowel cancer screening tests that are freely available for residents over 50 years of age.

Bowel cancer is Australia’s second most common type of cancer. In Australia 80 people die from bowel cancer every week, and around 1 in 10 men and 1 in 15 women are diagnosed with the disease by the age of 85 every year.

When I think about these statistics in the context of Yarra Ranges Council as an organisation, those numbers are alarming. And if you look around the Yarra Ranges community, chances are we all know of someone who has been impacted by this terrible disease.

Bowel Cancer Australia says the bowel cancer screening test is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer. When identified early, 90 per cent of bowel cancer cases can be successfully treated.

The free bowel screening test could very well have saved my life – and it could save yours too.

I urge anyone in the Yarra Ranges who is over 50 years old to make the most of the free bowel screening test. Information about how to access a free kit is available at www.cancerscreening.gov.au  or by phoning 1800 118 868.

And of course, regular check ups at your doctor are also an important preventative measure for overall health. I have regularly practised annual health checks including blood pressure, cholesterol, prostate and other men’s health issues. It was while undergoing one of these checks that my GP recommended another test, which then alerted me to my current health issue.

For more information about bowel cancer, I encourage you all to go to www.bowelcanceraustralia.org or www.cancer.org.au . Donations for research into bowel cancer can also be made through the Bowel Cancer Australia website.

Cr Jim Child

The Let’s Talk About Warby project

The Let’s Talk About Warby project gave Council a detailed picture of the experiences of families, and what they needed to help raise their children.

While the majority of children growing up in the Upper Yarra are thriving and developing well, the available data and community feedback has identified that the developmental outcomes for some are not as strong as we would wish.

This project is a demonstration of Council’s commitment to achieving the outcomes outlined in the Child and Youth Strategy and I look forward to seeing actions emerge that make a positive difference to the lives of young children.

STOP Municipal and Industrial Landfill Levy Funding DELWP/Parks Victoria Initiatives.

I have given notice to the CEO of Yarra Ranges Council that it is my intention to move the following urgent motion at the Yarra Ranges Council meeting to be held on Tuesday 9 May, 2017.

MOTION 
That Council write to the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change requesting that funding generated through the collection of the Municipal and Industrial Landfill Levy be constrained to the purposes for which the Levy was introduced and raising concerns with the Levy funds being allocated to supplement Parks Victoria initiatives not related to the purposes of the Levy.

SUMMARY / BACKGROUND
This motion is urgent because this issue will be discussed at the forthcoming Municipal Association of Victoria State Conference on 12 May and could not be deferred to the next ordinary meeting as this will be after the MAV meeting.
It has been identified in the State Government Budget that funds have been allocated to Parks Victoria for the purpose of providing additional resources to ensure safe and equitable access to parks, which includes the redevelopment of the Parks Victoria website and a new asset management system that will replace the large asset base of Parks Victoria. Funding is also provided to Parks Victoria to start the process of acquiring land to establish three new metropolitan parks in Melbourne’s growth areas, and Anglesea Heath will be incorporated into the Great Otway National Park.
It has been stated that these initiatives will be funded from the Municipal and Industrial Landfill Levy.
The landfill levy which this Council contributes many dollars to annually was established to provide funding assistance to establish waste management infrastructure, support programs for industry, education programs and the resourcing of the bodies responsible for waste planning and management in Victoria. The levy also acts as an incentive to minimise the generation of waste and promote investment in developing alternatives to disposal to landfill.
 It is considered that the items outlined in the budget paper for Parks Victoria do not meet the intent of the allocation of this fund.

Victorian Budget 17/18 - Service DeliveryBudget Paper No. 3 Presented by Tim Pallas MP,Treasurer of the State of Victoria

Assessment of the Economic, Social and Environmental Impact of the Proposed Great Forest National Park to the Yarra Ranges Municipality

THE creation of a Great Forest National Park will have little or no positive impact on the Yarra Ranges region and could see more than 260 jobs lost. The Yarra Ranges Council’s own commissioned $33,000 independent report, says economic modelling indicated the loss of the employment associated with logging and sawmilling would result in a net loss of 264 jobs if timber harvesting was to be banned in the proposed national park. And of course would be larger if the jobs associated with support and transport services are also included. The Yarra Ranges Council’s independent report showed parks and state forests made a “significant” contribution to the Yarra Ranges economy generating more than 2700 jobs but stated the economic impact of the proposed GFNP “is in question” because it would need to generate tourist numbers well above the 500,000 who visit each year NOW. All the ecotourism activities being proposed by the GFNP proposal can be achieved with our present magnificent National Parks and State Forest systems in the Yarra Ranges and without the creation of a Great Forest National Park. ‘The proposed park would have little impact on the outcomes of the Yarra Ranges Council’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy or its Recreation and Open Space Strategy beyond the impact that is generated by the existing Parks and/or State Forests.

CLICK ON IMAGE

Council's decision to commission a report by an independent external consultant on the ‘Great Forest National Park’ proposal.
Yarra Ranges Council meeting minutes 13th October 2015.

Great Forest National Park Assesment Report