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The Moorabool News – 12 July, 2022 Page 3
Tractors to go west By Lachlan Ellis A ‘superload’ will be going through Moorabool in the early hours this Friday however, there will be another super load convoy travelling on the freeway, tractors. Five months on from a successful rally in Melbourne, a community group will take to the streets of Ballarat with tractors and utes, shining a bright red light on “ill-conceived” plans for an overhead transmission network. Over 300 people attended the Stop AusNet’s Towers rally at Spring Street in March, and it’s hoped an even bigger crowd will join the convoy and rally at Lydiard Street, Ballarat this Friday 15 July. The group is rallying against the Western Renewables Link (formerly known as the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project), which would put 190 kilometres of high-voltage transmission lines aboveground through Western Victoria under current plans. Chair of Stop AusNet’s Towers, Emma Muir, said she hoped the rally would help more people in the Ballarat area realise how the proposed powerlines will affect them. “The rally will feature local politicians, candidates, community groups, and people who want to have a chat about how the project will affect not just the regions involved, but also the Ballarat community,” Ms Muir told the Moorabool News.
“We feel that Ballarat is going a bit under the radar I suppose. The Ballarat region will be directly affected by the proposal, and we want to make the extended community aware how we will be affected too. McCain’s spud growers will definitely be affected, plus services that support them. Also tourism, tourism is a huge thing for Ballarat but also the Daylesford and Creswick region.” Ms Muir said the rally was a chance to put local politicians on notice, with the state election coming up in November. “A lot of candidates and politicians are in the Ballarat region, so we thought it was a good spot to highlight the community’s concerns as well, and show them to take us seriously… we’re not going to vote for the same,” she said. “If AusNet gets its way, this project will devastate our communities. Bushfire risk will skyrocket, high-value agricultural land that feeds Victoria will be destroyed, and land values will plummet. The project must go underground, not overhead.” The event will begin at around 10.30 am, with the vehicle convoy departing Ballarat Airport and making its way to Lydiard Street, doing a couple of laps of Ballarat before meeting back in Lydiard Street at 12.30pm. Comedian and actor Stephen Curry, who was at the March rally, and a huge supporter of the group since June 2020, will also be speaking at the rally. For more information on the rally, visit www.stopausnetstowers.com.au.
Library consult goes to Gordon By Carol Saffer The planning and design work for the new Ballan Library and Community Hub is underway with Moorabool Shire Council calling for community input at a Community Cafés held across the Shire. Gordon and nearby residents are invited to the Public Hall on Tuesday, 19 July at 5.30pm to meet the architects, project team and Library/Council staff to share ideas for the new venue. Council anticipates the proposed site in Inglis Street Ballan, will include a library and incorporate a maternal and child health centre, community meeting spaces, exhibition and event spaces, all surrounding a central connected courtyard. Gordon resident Kylie Abraham attended the first community meeting held in Ballan. She said it would be a fantastic development and welcomed the suggestions put forward by the audience.
“I love the idea of [not just the library space but] hiring different functional, up-to-date meeting rooms,” she said. “I often work from home, and the internet in Gordon is unstable and affected by the weather, so the idea of being able to use a meeting room is brilliant.” Ms Abraham said the ability to take magazines and books out into the planned outdoor areas is also a terrific initiative. “And the concept of varying opening hours is a winner. After my commute from work, I can pop into the library and pick up items on my way home.” Mt Egerton resident Helen Hunter said the project is a great thing to be happening to Ballan. She said when her family lived in Ballan, she and her two daughters were regular visitors to the library. “I have fond memories of taking the girls there, particularly as the original purpose of a Mechanics Institute building was to be a meeting hall and library,” she said.
“I hope the new Hub will capture the attention of teenagers with technology appropriate to the interests, whether its gaming or literacy based.” The current Ballan Library within the Mechanics Institute cannot provide internet access to the public and does not meet accessibility standards. It is 37 per cent of the size required to meet the needs of the town’s population, not including the surrounding area. In Ballan and surrounds, one in five households is without internet. The new Hub anticipates opening its doors to the community in 2023. The Gordon Community Café is at the Gordon Public Hall, 64 Main St Gordon. Please call the council on 5366 7100 and select #5 to register.
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