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.<\/p>\n
Cr Tom Sullivan raised the matter as an item of urgent business at the new council\u2019s ordinary meeting last week.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The motion did not specify a time frame for the report to be presented.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn June 2021 the State Government declared that the Wombat State Forest be added to the National Park Register,\u201d Cr Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are also a number of communities and towns immediately to the south of the forest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cr Sullivan said the 2021 storm caused \u201csignificant localised damage\u201d to the towns and communities and the forest within the Shire.<\/p>\n
\u201cNearly 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Cr Sullivan told the meeting his call for a report was prompted by the fires situation in the Grampians.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an issue we may confront,\u201d he said. \u201cThis report is asking us for a way forward because given what\u2019s happened in the Grampians it\u2019s a concern to me that I don\u2019t want us to sit on our hands and do nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Cr Moira Berry seconded Cr Sullivan\u2019s motion.<\/p>\n
Councillors hail Australia Day ceremony<\/strong><\/p>\n The success of the Shire\u2019s Australia Day citizenship ceremony has been collectively lauded by councillors.<\/p>\n During the section of the meeting dedicated to councillors\u2019 reports, they spoke unanimously of satisfaction and appreciation of how the day went.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was heartening to see so many people being there and becoming Australian citizens,\u201d Cr Sullivan said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe commitment they\u2019re making really reinforces what a great country we have.\u201d<\/p>\n Cr John Keogh congratulated everyone involved in organising and conducting the \u201cvery warm, friendly and welcoming\u201d ceremony.<\/p>\n Cr Steve Venditti-Taylor said it was a \u201cfantastic\u201d day, while Cr Berry used the same word to describe every councillor\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n Cr Jarrod Bingham said he and many other people who had grown up in Australia often took for granted \u201chow lucky we genuinely are.”<\/p>\n \u201cA 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Highway committee forges ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n Cr Rod Ward reported that the Western Highway Action Committee will engage a consultant to investigate \u201cstrategic and priority projects, both planning and construction\u201d in its campaign for improvements to the road.<\/p>\n He said the committee \u2013 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 \u2013 had voted unanimously at a meeting in Kaniva on 31 January to draft its own strategy for the corridor.<\/p>\n It will be known as the Western Highway Corridor Strategy<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t had visibility of the Department of Transport\u2019s strategy for the Western Highway and we\u2019re dissatisfied with the [road\u2019s] condition,\u201d Cr Ward said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Western Highway is the third-busiest highway in Australia in terms of freight carriers \u2013 5400 trucks a day and about 86,000 vehicles a day \u2013 so this is something we hold dear and we want to see it better.\u201d<\/p>\n Cr Ward also assumed chairmanship of the committee at the Kaniva meeting.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n