Here are some highlights from the July 2018 Council meeting, held in Bannockburn. It was great to see around 30 members of the community attend.
Citizenship Ceremony
Council congratulated the following residents on their decision to become Australian Citizens:
- Ms Rebecca Blasdell from the United Kingdom, who resides in Bannockburn
- Mrs Maria Cociuba from Romania, who resides in Smythes Creek
- Mrs Christine Diwell from England, who resides in Meredith
- Mrs Irene Hardy and Mr Terence Hardy from the United Kingdom, who reside in Enfield.
It was great to officially welcome these residents as Australian citizens.
Citizen Recognition
We also celebrated the achievements of 10-year-old Taliah Eastgate, a Teesdale resident, who competed in the Australian National Championships for Calisthenics earlier this month.
In Principle Performance Statement and In-Principle Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2018
Council agreed to delegate approval of the ‘In-Principle’ Performance Statement and ‘In-Principle’ Financial Statements for the year ending 30 June 2018 to the Audit and Risk Committee.
Council also agreed to authorise Mayor Kirby and Cr Hansford to certify the Performance Statement and the Financial Statements on behalf of Council. These delegations are necessary due to the timelines for meeting our legislative requirements around our accounts.
Council Plan Implementation – June quarter 2018
We also noted the report and achievements attained in the implementation of the actions contained in the Council Plan 2017-2021, as at 30 June. This was the fourth quarterly report regarding implementation of the Plan and shows that all proposed actions for the 2017-18 year have been completed.
Planning Application P17-264 for a Variation of Restrictive Covenant AJ155743K to allow two dwellings on the land at 6 Doherty Street, Bannockburn
Council considered a planning permit application, which proposed to vary the registered restrictive covenant AJ155743K, to allow two dwellings on the land at 6 Doherty Street, Bannockburn. Many of the larger rural residential blocks, which were popular in the past, are more commonly being carved in half. Officers recommended approval of the application and Council supported this.
Safe Haven Enterprise Visa Zone
Council received a request for the Shire to be included as part of the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa Zone. Refugees who hold these visas are required to work three and a half years out of five in an area listed with the Department of Home Affairs. The benefits of being listed as part of the scheme means that refugees who work in the Shire can fulfil their visa requirements which will allow them to apply for a range of permanent visas. Unfortunately as it stands, most of our Shire isn’t covered, so Council will write to the Federal Government requesting our inclusion.
Proposed Change of Smythesdale Neighbourhood Safer Place - Place of Last Resort from Woady Yaloak Equestrian Centre to Smythesdale Recreation Reserve
In 2017, Council was approached by District 15 CFA and the Smythesdale Fire Brigade to move the Neighbourhood Safer Place – Place of Last Resort (NSP-PLR) from the Woady Yaloak Equestrian Centre to the Smythesdale Recreation Reserve. The Smythesdale Fire Brigade noted that they would prefer to use the Equestrian Centre as a staging area instead of the Recreation Reserve, as they currently do and Council agreed with this change.
National General Assembly – Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) 2018
Mayor Kirby, along with the CEO, attended the 2018 National General Assembly (NGA) of Australian Local Government Association in Canberra from Sunday 17 to Wednesday 20 June this year. This report detailed the meetings they attended with a number of Ministers and politicians.
The National General Assembly of Local Government was an important opportunity to represent our Shire and make sure our voice is heard in the National conversation about local government and we got a lot of benefit out of it.
G21 – Canberra Advocacy Delegation 2018
Similarly, this report updated Council and Community on the recent G21 Delegation to Canberra, which focused on the Regional Priorities identified in the G21 Priority Projects document, but also allowed us to speak about issues and concerns within our Shire.
Community members can view the reports for both of these important events in the July 2018 agenda (7.8 and 7.9).
The meeting concluded with the Councillors discussing what they have been up to over the past month and the meeting closed just before 7.30pm.
The July 2018 minutes will be available on Council’s website before the end of the week, via the link below.