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Chronicle Friday 310524

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COUNCIL STAYS WITH ITS CALL AGAINST STATE PLANNING CHANGES

Weekend Edition

www.wangarattachronicle.com.au

FRIDAY, May 31, 2024

PANTRY TO HELP THOSE IN NEED Page 2

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$1.80 INC. GST

MURRAY GOING TO THE CROWS

FIT FOR A KING FESTIVAL RETURNS

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SPORT

NEW LOOK ENTRANCE LOCAL bricklayer Des Smith was one of the first to check out the new entrance to Wangaratta Railway Station yesterday. Des came down especially to view the new look area and the dive that has now been filled in as part of the Inland Rail’s transformation of the station. PHOTO: Steve Kelly

River of despair Landholders talk of ongoing g g damage, g , demand urgent g care for King g River

LANDHOLDERS along the King River from Cheshunt to Moyhu are calling for urgent action to be taken to address significant flood damage which they say is impacting properties and affecting the long-term health of the waterway. The property owners have identified numerous sites of concern along the

BY ANITA McPHERSON amcpherson@ nemedia.com.au

King River, where they say repeated flood events and a lack of maintenance has led to debris blockages, sediment islands, erosion of prime agricultural land and loss of riparian habitat, while destroying infrastruc-

ture put in place decades ago to prevent the damage from happening. Many of them say they have raised the issues repeatedly over the years with the North East Catchment Management Authority (NECMA), with 13 landholders writing to NECMA and signing a petition calling for them to address the problem four years ago.

The authority responded and acknowledged the problem but said it “was not in a position to contribute financially” to the works, instead saying it would “help facilitate consent” for them to do it themselves. Late last year, NECMA CEO Katie Warner defended pushing the responsibility back onto landholders, saying while it had a regulatory

role under the Water Act 1989 to authorise flood mitigations activities, it “does not have a responsibility to carry out flood mitigation activities on waterways themselves”. Ms Warner advised that NECMA planned to consult with communities during the next two years to revise its North East Regional Waterway Strategy (2014)

which outlined its regional goals and guided its works programs. The issue has come to a head once again after NECMA held three drop-in sessions in Oxley, Moyhu and Cheshunt last month, where it said it was seeking community input for the development of a Rehabilitation Plan. ■ Continued page 12

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