Pollies on ground at Lexton
LEXTON’S BlazeAid volunteers were joined on Monday morning by three tiers of government representation.
Making a visit to the operation’s camp base and out to farmland where the initiative is rebuilding fences, Member for Ripon Louise Staley, Member for Wannon Dan Tehan, and Pyrenees shire council mayor Cr Tanya Kehoe saw the damage and local needs firsthand.
Lexton BlazeAid camp coordinator, Janis Hobbs said the pollies arrived early, just like other volunteers, to attend the daily compulsory muster, collect their protective gear like glasses, hi-vis vests and gloves, and get a buddy.
“They came in, signed up, and Louise drove one of the cars in a carpool group that went out,” Ms Hobbs said.
“They were working with a local farmer who’s the team leader for the day, and they met another farmer who was fire affected.
“They worked on a fence where there’s a dip in the gully. They were fixing up the bit to stop the sheep getting in and out underneath.”
Ms Hobbs said it was important for them to see what’s happening at a grassroots level and great to have them “hands on.
“It’s wonderful that they would make the effort and join us here, see what it’s like,” she said.
“They met our multicultural team. There are young people from Belgium, Wales and France. We’ve had a fellow from Afghanistan, it’s just fantastic.
“For the politicians to see the circumstances that we operate in, then what they say will be meaningful when they go and report what’s going on to other government bodies that may be able to help provide services that we need to support the communities.”