General Manager, Jane Redden, and myself spent a very productive hour with Troy Grant yesterday and were given very beneficial information on many of the major issues that I have alluded to previously in this column. Troy has given an undertaking to approach Gabriel Upton, Minister for Office of Environment and Heritage who will play a significant role in the determination of the Narromine flood levee situation. We have put forward the determination that has been accepted by both the Flood levee committee and then by council as to how we believe this issue should proceed. It is based on the facts, commonsense, and affordability and an overwhelming sense of responsibility to our community. Troy was more than happy to take this to Ms Upton highlighting that this situation has existed since pre 2000. I truly believe that the shire will see daylight on this levee this year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The farce, that the MDBA has become, continues on its merry way taking water from productive agriculture and giving it to South Australia. On the one hand they want things in their natural state and on the other only if it means the complete degradation of the irrigation industry in the other eastern states. The loss to our valley on the most conservative figures is in the vicinity of $200 million per annum and in years like this when over one million megs have gone to the marshes the opportunity cost to our valley is in the multiple $ billions. It makes a mockery when reading the MDBA report and I quote ‘We all need to be smarter how we manage water”. The outcome of what is little more than a social engineering exercise is clearly beyond the imagination of the politicians and bureaucrats who support this proposal.
On a happier note, Troy Grant also expressed his congratulations regarding the social coordination program that GM, Jane Redden , Cr Lyn Jablonski and myself took to the Director of the Dept of Premier , Ashley Albury recently. The aim is to provide a more coordinated approach to providing some of the social welfare programs currently utilised in the shire and particularly those related to youth programs.
Council are very committed to trying to bring about better outcomes for disadvantaged youth in the shire that will translate to better outcomes for the community. This initiative is very much a work in progress but we will ensure that the vision we have is delivered and the shire becomes the beneficiary.
I also wish to thank all the councillors who are playing a great role in supporting myself and the staff. I will never tire of the new ideas , weird ideas and just some great proposals that I get an almost daily basis. Many of these hit the email stream amongst the councillors and are pulled apart , dissected and either taken up or discarded . The enthusiasm is infectious and it is a real pleasure to work with such a visionary group. If members of the public wish to attend meetings I offer a very warm welcome.
