Lorne has such a great array of community assets and the level of volunteerism in this community is nothing short of remarkable. As confirmed by the 2016 census, our community offers its time on a volunteer basis at a rate almost double the national average. It\u2019s no wonder we have such an incredible sense of place and pride within this town and last week I was privileged to experience another great example of just this.<\/p>\n
Having followed the progress of the Lorne Men\u2019s Shed construction and attending the official opening, that is about where my involvement with our local \u201cshedders\u201d has started and stopped. That was until last week when proud Lorne Men\u2019s Shed president Alan Walls, gave me a personal guided tour of our facility. I had regularly noted with interest the gathering of locals at the shed and the work that they had been doing in the great local project of \u201ccocky proofing\u201d our rubbish bins and other projects.<\/p>\n
On entering the \u201cshed\u201d (surely one of the best in Australia) it was the pride in presentation of what lay before me that reinforced the passion and pride of our local shedders. A multi-purpose room that would hold its own against any purpose-built community room on the coast of Victoria and a general workshop area more organised than most commercial operations would aspire to \u2013 what a sensational facility and congratulations to all involved!<\/p>\n
Following a meeting hosted by the Lorne Business Tourism and Traders Association (LBTA) with guest Richard Riordan, we learnt that the recent power loss over the Amy\u2019s Gran Fondo weekend was potentially an experience that will occur again unless certain changes are made. We heard that there are two main power supplies that come into Lorne, one from Colac and the other from Waurn Ponds, and these assets are in need of upgrades.<\/p>\n
Depending on which supply line feeds your precinct will determine how long you would have been without power and on the \u201cAmy\u2019s weekend\u201d, residential dwellings were less effected than our commercial precinct. We were told that there is no ability to zone the supply to \u201cpriority areas\u201d or dedicated zones within our town boundary. We heard, and can accept in our environment, that weather events and falling trees and debris are ongoing maintenance issues that can be dealt with. However, we believe it\u2019s unacceptable that our town has to put up with substandard supply assets that struggle to cater for surges of increased numbers. The LBTA is continuing to pursue the issue.<\/p>\n
Our local councillor Clive Goldsworthy is away on a very, very well earned month\u2019s break and in Clive\u2019s absence any urgent matters should be directed to Lisa Thompson at LThomson@surcoast.vic.gov.au.<\/p>\n