Council

Planting has finished with round one of Maitland City Council’s Community Street Tree Planting Program seeing 136 trees installed during February. Expressions of interest were called from residents in September 2020, and the positive level of response received highlighted people’s interest in environmentally driven projects and green spaces in Maitland.

Roper Gulf Regional Council would like to thank everyone who was involved in the emergency evacuation of the Jilkminggan community on Thursday 25 February 2021. The decision was made by the Local Emergency Committee to evacuate 211 people from Jilkminggan as flood waters continued to rise and surround the community.

Hon Keith Pitt MP joined local member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster and Senator Hon Bridget McKenzie, in Mildura today to talk water with the Murray River Group of Councils. Mayors of the six member councils welcomed the opportunity to directly raise their concerns about the impacts of the Basin Plan on the region on behalf of northern Victorian communities.

Nicholas Rapulo. The National Party’s efforts to suppress the release of a $500,000 feasibility study into the revival of the Narrandera to Tocumwal rail line has failed with the report set to see the light of day. A motion put forward by the Shooters, Fishers, Farmers Party in New South Wales parliament passed the upper house last month meaning the report, which has been hidden away, will be released to the public.

There are two ideas on how to use the rail corridor between Casino and Bentley. The newly formed Northern Rivers Rail Ltd wants to see trains on the track with a bike path alongside.

Geoff Helisma. Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan says he believes that the Clarence Valley Regional and Lismore airports are “still commercially viable”. The Independent emailed an enquiry to Mr Hogan’s office, asking for comment about Rex withdrawing from its Grafton and Lismore routes.

Geoff Helisma. Clarence Valley Council is hoping that Page MP Kevin Hogan can help fill the hole left by Rex regional airline’s announcement that it will cease operating its Sydney to Grafton and Lismore routes as of Friday March 26.

About 100 people were stranded for five days last week at Green Pigeon by the floodwaters of Fawcetts Creek. The usual wooden bridge access was gone. Matthews Bridge, known as Burgess Bridge by locals, was pulled down because Kyogle Council was building a new one in its place.

Geoff Helisma. It was a particularly sad day for Brooms Head resident Steve Otton when he discovered an emu he had been following and photographing had been killed crossing Brooms Head Road at about 6pm on February 19 near Tailem Drive ... "On top of this, not one but three NPWS Emu warning signs have been yet again ripped from their stakes overnight ... After finding the signs down late Saturday I then spotted, with delight and horror, a pair of emus about to cross the road. I waved down this red car as to the action ahead as the pair of emus tip-toed across the road at the 'Emu Crossing' half way along the horror 100km overtaking straight."

The Scenic Rim region is reaping the rewards of Queenslanders exploring their own backyard according to the most recent Tourism Research Australia data. Mayor Greg Christensen said that after a year of international and state border closures, the September 2020 year-end data shows that, while visitor numbers were down in the Scenic Rim, we fared much better than in other parts of South East Queensland.

Ahead of an event to encourage women to become councillors, we ask three current councillors about their experiences. Four of the nine Kyogle councillors are female. Richmond Valley Council has two out of seven.

The Civic Hall was once the pride and joy of Casino, and a major landmark built at an important time in the town's history, Richmond Valley mayor Robert Mustow said. Now the interior of the hall has been repainted and restored to its glory. Next the drab exterior of the 84-year-old Art Deco hall is to get a lift.

Representatives from Bass Coast Shire Council met with members of VinFast’s management team at the Lang Lang Proving Ground complex recently. VinFast, a Vietnamese car manufacturer, purchased the site from GM Holden last year and will continue to operate the Proving Ground as a vehicle testing and development facility.

The Tackling Mosquitos Together campaign is a co-operative effort of seven councils located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales - Tweed Shire Council, Ballina Shire Council, Byron Shire Council, Kyogle Council, Clarence Valley Council, Richmond Valley Council, and Lismore City Council - supported by the Department of Local Government.

In its first meeting for 2021, Ballina Shire Council has voted to support further investigation into the Dunoon Dam in an effort to revive the proposal and secure the region’s future water supply.

WATER Northern Rivers Alliance calls on Rous County Council and state water planners to respect the wishes of Widjabul Wia-bal people who have voiced their opposition to the proposed Dunoon Dam. The dam would obliterate important cultural heritage ancient burial sites. Yesterday John Roberts, a senior Elder of the Widjabul Wia-bal stated that when he and other traditional custodians were consulted about the dam in 2011 they made it clear that no level of disturbance was acceptable.

Local acoustic musicians playing throughout the day and market stalls spread across the Jetty Headland. Other small activities like giant games, a Tanker Jetty History stall and first on the new Jetty competition are planned.

... “Even foods you wouldn’t put in a home compost bin could go in because the processing of the waste occurs in a controlled environment. Cr Dickson said our region’s organic waste could be turned into high quality compost which could be put to good use in parks, gardens and farms, instead of rotting in a landfill and producing methane ...

Roper Gulf Regional Council would like to congratulate the Ngukurr community, for winning the 2020 Tidy Towns Sustainable Community Award for Water Conservation. The town’s water conservation success has been a result of Power and Water Corporation’s Ngukurr Leak Reduction Project, a joint project with the Department of Local Government, Housing and Community Development (DLGHCD) that located and repaired water leaks in Ngukurr. Through its not-for-profit subsidiary Indigenous Essential Services, this project enabled Power and Water to provide sustainable water supply to the Ngukurr community and support continual community growth.