COUNCIL WATCH Seat at Sydney Youth Forum for design winner
MEMBERS of the Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) Youth Council are busy organising a calendar of fun-filled events in Dubbo and Wellington for NSW Youth Week 2018, scheduled for April 13 to 22.
“Members are planning an activities day, a youth disco, trivia events, live music in parks in Dubbo and Wellington, and lots more,” DRC youth development officer Jason Yelverton told Dubbo Photo News.
Local activities are funded by Dubbo Regional Council which encourages young people to get involved in Youth Week, including in the planning, development and management of activities.
DRC Youth Council members work at the heart of organising events and during Youth Week will actively be supporting, managing or coordinating them.
Current members include Darcee Nixon, Heather Brandon, Lee Hilder, Jessica Hull, Rebecca Mcmahon, Sharika Maree Howard, Emily O’dea, Phoenix Aubusson-foley, and Nick Mckenna.
Answering a call by the Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People (ACYP) for youth to enter a T-shirt design competition inspired by this year’s Youth Week theme, “Unity Through Diversity”, our local Youth Council members were pictured testing out a colourful idea for their entry.
The winning entry will be the week’s official T-shirt design, and its designer will get a seat at the Youth Week Forum 2018 at Parliament House on Thursday, April 12, hosted by the ACYP.
There will be 150 other young people from across NSW taking part in activities which directly connect their ideas with government representatives.
Government departments provide key questions they would like to have answered by children and young people at the Forum, and responses are collated and provided to the departments after the event.
DRC Youth Council members receive an invitation to apply to attend the Forum every year.
“I’ve had some pretty amazing experiences through DRC Youth Council and the ACYP. It’s been the best decision of my life to join,” 14-year-old member Phoenix Aubusson-foley said.
road safety issue impacting emergency services.
“We saw a terrible accident in Leumeah last month that left two police officers severely injured. Every day, emergency workers across the state face huge risks working along the roadside,” RFSA President Ken Middleton said.
“We need urgent action to protect emergency workers. Action like that taken by Western Australia, which has followed the introduction of similar laws in Victoria and South Australia,” he said.
“Western Australia announced they were introducing laws to protect emergency workers on December 31, 2017, and they came into effect on March 2, 2018 – only a couple of months later.
“I am extremely disappointed that a planned meeting of that working group – which was due to meet on Friday, March 2 – was postponed,” Mr Middleton said.
Live feed of Processing Plant construction
THE new Regional Organics Processing Plant is under construction at the Whylandra Waste and Recycling Centre.
The new facility is being built to handle organic material which will be collected as part of the new threebin waste management service.
Organic matter including food scraps, lawn clippings, shredded paper and other food and garden waste collected will be processed there instead of going to landfill.
View the construction via a live feed on the Dubbo Regional Council website.
The DRC Youth Council is welcoming new members. The lead up to Youth Week NSW 2018 is an ideal time for community-minded 12- to 24-year-olds, keen on creating opportunities for youth in Dubbo, Wellington and surrounding villages, to step up.
Darcee Nixon is new to DRC Youth Council and will be actively participating and managing some of the local Youth Week events.
“I joined Youth Council as I wanted to become more involved within the Dubbo Community by actively planning and operating community events, especially those aimed towards the youth of Dubbo region. I think it is brilliant that younger people can influence Council decisions and have a significant presence in the Dubbo Community,” Darcee said. z Interested in joining DRC Youth Council? Contact Youth Development Officer Jason Yelverton phone 6801 4000. Meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month at 5.15pm at Council (unless advised otherwise).
THE FACTS, FAST
z NSW Youth Week 2018 official T-shirt competition
z Entries close March 28, 2018
z Winner: T-shirt becomes official T-shirt; attends Parliament House, Thursday, April 12
z Runner-up: Wins a Gopro
z Closing date: March 28, 2018.
z More details: Advocate of Children and Young People Website