News
Page 4 The Moorabool News – 28 June, 2022
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Annual budget green light By Lachlan Ellis Council’s latest Budget has passed with the approval of all but one Councillor, who opposed the idea of a 1.75 per cent rates increase, during hardships such as inflation and high petrol prices. The 2022/23 Annual Budget came before Council at its 22 June Special Meeting, with Woodlands Cr Ally Munari adding an extra paragraph that Council “writes to the Minister for Local Government, fully supporting the Victorian Farmers Federation proposal regarding valuation averaging”. If this proposal was adopted by the State Government, rates would be charged based on a moving average on property valuations over five years, rather than solely the current yearly valuation. Cr David Edwards moved the motion to approve the Budget, with Cr Tonia Dudzik seconding the motion. However, Central Cr Paul Tatchell opposed it, starting a debate. Cr Edwards said this year’s Budget was “really exciting”, and would deliver enormous benefits to the Moorabool community. “If you have a look through some of the detail, there’s over $61 million in capital works. That comes on the back of only $37 million of rates, I think that’s a pretty impressive achievement by Council,” Cr Edwards said. Cr Tatchell agreed the Budget was
Total Capital Program $61.482M Funding source Government Grants Cash Contributions Loans and borrowings Council contribution Total
$14.401m $1.300m $14.000m $31.781m $61.482m
impressive, calling it “probably one of the best we’ve seen over the past 10 years based on conciseness”, but argued Council needed to be more conservative with taxing and spending, given current hardships. “It is a very good Budget...in any other circumstance than the current uncertainty, I would comfortably say this is the first Budget, I’d put hand on heart and say it works. But I can’t support it in terms of what I feel will happen in the next couple of years. When people are doing it tough you hold back, you don’t spend money,” Cr Tatchell said. “I went to the supermarket the other night to see what everyday people are doing when they get home from work. I saw a lot of people putting stuff back, and I haven’t seen people do that in Ballan before. I spoke to a couple of people in those aisles and said, ‘How are you travelling?’ The overwhelming response was heating costs are killing
them. The money they need to spend to travel to work has skyrocketed, and the overtime isn’t there,” he said, “It’s time for the three levels of government to ask, ‘What is reasonable?’ I don’t agree with the State Government that you should just put rates up by CPI. I think this is the year we should be brave in Moorabool and say no rate increase.” Cr Edwards acknowledged the hardships people were going through, but drew a comparison to the Great Depression, arguing that Council spending on big projects would create jobs and stimulate the local economy. “There are many opportunities that I see within this Budget that will actually help alleviate those potential problems that may come up... when you’re putting $61 million into projects everywhere from Lal Lal to Bacchus Marsh, what that does is creates work locally,” he said. Cr Edwards said a lot of people get employed not only directly in those projects, but “it’s also the indirect effects on the economy...the pubs, the cafes, the supermarkets, will get money from those people doing the works.” The Budget was overwhelmingly approved, with Crs Edwards, Dudzik, Munari, Ward, and Berry voting in favour, while Cr Tatchell maintained his opposition.
Free webinars for bushfire resilience The cold, wet weather at the moment might not have you thinking about fires – but bushfire season will come around before we know it, and a series of free webinars will be held in the coming months to help prepare. Hosted by not-for-profit Bushfire Resilience Inc (BRI), five webinars will be held from July through to August, providing thought-provoking, relevant, and practical information for families in rural areas and on the urban fringe. Viewers can ask questions before or during the webinar, with a panel of experts prepared for each webinar to discuss the issues, strategies, and actions to get bushfire resilient. From psychologists, scientists, and even a school principal, the webinars will inform viewers on how to make the best decisions during a bushfire, with a foundation in fire science, fire behaviour, and the best safety strategies. The first webinar, titled ‘Horses and bushfire – what do we know?’ will be held at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 20 July, and will be presented by Kirrilly Thompson from the University of Newcastle, Andrew McLean from Equitation Science International, and veterinarian Chris Heislers. Webinars will also be held on 10 August, 24 August, 7 September, and 21 September, with topics ranging from ‘Your vegetation – what you need to know’ to ‘Why get kids involved in the family bushfire plan’. For more information and to register, visit www. bushfireresilience.org.au.