Community input leads to ownership

Moira Shire Council, in northern Victoria, recently involved its community in designing motifs for each of its towns’ signs. Baw Baw Shire Council, on the other hand, unilaterally designed a generic sign for each of its towns.

The outcome shows a much more interesting and inclusive approach by Moria Shire Council to each town’s identification than our recent, very bland shire signs, both town entrance and flags.

Interested readers can type ‘ Moira shire motifs’ into their favourite search engine to see the outcome for each town in that shire.

You will notice that Moira Shire has encouraged the residents in each of its towns to come up with a design that the residents believe identifies their respective town. The residents, therefore, have ownership of their town’s new signage.

This is an initiative Baw Baw Shire must take up, even acknowledging that it has just completed its very bland re-badging of its towns’ signs.

Regarding Baw Baw Shire’s flags in each town, I do not recall driving into any other town in my various travels across Australia which has flags that ‘ advertise’ the shire to which it belongs rather than the individual towns within it.

Without exception (although I am sure someone will identify some exceptions), flags within towns that I have seen display the name of the town, typically with a logo or motif.

People want to go to a town, locality or specific location, not a local government area that just happens to encompass the town or location.

Walhalla and Yarragon are good examples; people identify with the towns, not Baw Baw Shire.

Again, the shire must replace the flags within each town with flags identifying each individual town or locality.

As new town entry signage has just occurred, without any community consultation that I’m aware of, council can undertake community consultation in relation to flags which include a design each community considers appropriately represents it.

These designs could then subsequently be incorporated into town entry signage when the next upgrade is done.

Mick Bourke, Trafalgar new house being completed very obviously leaves it open to being ‘forgotten’. Incoming councillors should institute a policy framed to prevent recurrence.

It’s pleasing other councillors did not support Peter Kostos in his latest attempt to subvert the Planning Scheme. Simon Parsons reminded us (Gaz 6/10) that this is law not susceptible to bad precedents set by historical, incompetent decisions of councillors, as Cr Kostos wanted.

His argument that ‘the applicants needed the house to support their business’ was completely irrelevant. Need in this context must be for the particular legitimate farming use of the 20ha lot on which it’s situated, which couldn’t possibly justify two houses, anyway.

Removal of a house might not necessarily mean demolition. Perhaps the applicants could relocate it elsewhere on their 400ha.

John Hart, Warragul cent of the primary vote) is extremely humbling.

The issues I ran on were to find a solution to the traffic congestion in Drouin, key infrastructure for Longwarry including an upgrade of the sport and rec facilities as well as a new pedestrian crossing from the train station.

I have advocated for increased infrastructure for people of all abilities to access our regions many attractions and amenity. Continued road and drainage upgrades and improvements will always be apart of the shire’s objectives and I will advocate hard for the west ward to receive our fair share.

Seven years in the army taught me to listen, follow and lead. I have a lot to learn and I am excited to do so. The sense of purpose and honour I feel with these election results are similar to those that I felt when representing our country in the ADF.

I am a hard worker and most of all a grassroots bloke that will be in the trenches with the public.

With an overwhelming result I come into council with a clear mandate to work on and achieve results for the issues I ran on. The next four years will be a rewarding challenge I have no doubt and I am keen to make a difference.

Ben Lucas, Drouin

No COVID-19

Because of the pandemic we see fear, panic and stupidity.

Deaths from annual flu and old age appear to have been eradicated .

Yet the average mortality rate per year per million people has remained stable . No Covid-19 pandemic exists.

A world wide pandemic of fear. panic and stupidity is however painfully self evident . Those persons having evaded death via annual flu and old age would no doubt be grateful except for the fact that they are now dead anyhow.

Lynton Malley, Cloverlea