Forest storm damage update sought – Moorabool Shire Council meeting briefs

MOORABOOL Shire Council officers will prepare a report on the status of clean-up works in the Wombat State Forest after the June 2021 storm that caused extensive damage in the area.

Cr Tom Sullivan raised the matter as an item of urgent business at the new council’s ordinary meeting last week.

His motion to have council officers prepare a report providing recommendations, directions and strategies to ensure the safety of residents of small towns within and near the forest was carried unanimously.

The motion did not specify a time frame for the report to be presented.

“In June 2021 the State Government declared that the Wombat State Forest be added to the National Park Register,” Cr Sullivan said.

“A number of small towns within Moorabool are located within the Wombat State Forest, including Blackwood, Barrys Reef, Dales Creek, Blakeville, Korweinguboora, Spargo Creek and Barkstead.

“There are also a number of communities and towns immediately to the south of the forest.”

Cr Sullivan said the 2021 storm caused “significant localised damage” to the towns and communities and the forest within the Shire.

“Nearly four years on, much of the fallen timber is still lying on the forest floor potentially creating a significant fire risk to the towns and communities within the forest,” he said.

At the time, Forest Fire Management Victoria reported that about 45,000 hectares of forest land was impacted by the storm, 1600 hectares of that severely.

Cr Sullivan told the meeting his call for a report was prompted by the fires situation in the Grampians.

“It is an issue we may confront,” he said. “This report is asking us for a way forward because given what’s happened in the Grampians it’s a concern to me that I don’t want us to sit on our hands and do nothing.”

In response to a question, Community Assets and Infrastructure general manager Phil Jeffrey told the meeting he did not know the current status of clean-up work but would find out.

Cr Moira Berry seconded Cr Sullivan’s motion.

Councillors hail Australia Day ceremony

The success of the Shire’s Australia Day citizenship ceremony has been collectively lauded by councillors.

During the section of the meeting dedicated to councillors’ reports, they spoke unanimously of satisfaction and appreciation of how the day went.

The Shire welcomed 32 new citizens as part of the celebrations at the Mechanics Institute in Inglis Street, Ballan, prompting all-round acclaim from the council table.

“It was heartening to see so many people being there and becoming Australian citizens,” Cr Sullivan said.

“The commitment they’re making really reinforces what a great country we have.”

Cr John Keogh congratulated everyone involved in organising and conducting the “very warm, friendly and welcoming” ceremony.

Cr Steve Venditti-Taylor said it was a “fantastic” day, while Cr Berry used the same word to describe every councillor’s presence.

Cr Jarrod Bingham said he and many other people who had grown up in Australia often took for granted “how lucky we genuinely are.”

“A day like Australia Day, especially the citizenship ceremony and people wanting to make the trip across the ocean and call Australia home, it genuinely brings you back down to earth and realise how lucky we actually are,” he said.

Highway committee forges ahead

Cr Rod Ward reported that the Western Highway Action Committee will engage a consultant to investigate “strategic and priority projects, both planning and construction” in its campaign for improvements to the road.

He said the committee – comprising 10 councils covering a 430-kilometre stretch of the highway from Melton to the South Australian border and a population of about 430,000 people – had voted unanimously at a meeting in Kaniva on 31 January to draft its own strategy for the corridor.

It will be known as the Western Highway Corridor Strategy.

“We haven’t had visibility of the Department of Transport’s strategy for the Western Highway and we’re dissatisfied with the [road’s] condition,” Cr Ward said.

“The Western Highway is the third-busiest highway in Australia in terms of freight carriers – 5400 trucks a day and about 86,000 vehicles a day – so this is something we hold dear and we want to see it better.”

Cr Ward also assumed chairmanship of the committee at the Kaniva meeting.

The committee was established in 2000 and advocates for safety, transport efficiency and amenity on the arterial route – 258 kilometres of which is a single carriageway and 161 kilometres of dual carriageway known as the Western Freeway.

Snake catching trial to be part of budget planning

Cr Ward withdrew a proposed notice of motion seeking to introduce a two-year trial of a snake catching and removal service in favour of the matter’s consideration as part of budget preparations.

The notice of motion would have introduced a service during the 2025/26 year, and followed a report on the feasibility of the plan in July last year.

Cr Ward stressed that he remained a strong advocate for a snake catching service, but had received advice that submitting the idea for consideration as part of budget deliberations was a better option.

In the motion, Cr Ward said neighbouring and other nearby councils already offered free snake catching services, and there had been an increased number of snake sightings in the Shire this summer, according to reports from private snake catchers and residents on social media.

“Snake encounters are common in peri-urban areas such as Moorabool due to the mix of urban and rural environments,” he said.

“Due to the rapid growth of some areas of MSC there are housing estates increasingly being built that are encroaching into areas that are traditionally a safe habitat for snakes.”

That could pose a public safety risk, he said.