Archive for July 15th, 2008

Maroondah Leader: Premier push for station

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 15th of July, 2008

The Maroondah Leader has reported on the recently held Eastern Transport Coalition Summit and the renewed advocacy campaign for the upgrade of Ringwood Station, amid the arrival of the Premier and Cabinet for a community cabinet at Maroondah’s Karralyka Centre.

Councillor Alex Makin told an Eastern Transport Coalition summit earlier this month that a firm commitment to the station redevelopment was urgent.

The redevelopment of Ringwood Station is critical to ensure the revitalisation of Ringwood into an accessible and sustainable urban centre that is well served through public transport.

Cr Makin said a lack of State Government funding for the project threatened the revitalisation of Ringwood.

“The Government claims it is ‘committed’ to Ringwood but its words are meaningless without a financial commitment,” Cr Makin said.

The State Government cannot expect the community to believe its promises when it constantly fails to deliver funds to redevelop the station. While the State Government provided minor funding in previous budgets to undertake feasibility and design works it failed to deliver a single cent to deliver the necessary works to redevelop the station into a safe and accessible transport interchange.

“Ringwood Station is consistently rated as one of the most unsafe locations within Maroondah it fails Commonwealth accessibility standards.”

The Eastern Transport Coalition stands united in its call for the upgrade of Ringwood Station. It is imperative that Maroondah City Council holds the State Government to account so that the station redevelopment is delivered as part of the overall revitalisation of Ringwood.

Partners in Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee - discussing Council’s new wellbeing plan

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 15th of July, 2008

While the Premier and Cabinet descended upon Maroondah as part of their ‘Community Cabinet’ — and left without an announcement towards the redevelopment of Ringwood Station, I was chairing Maroondah’s Partners in Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee to discuss council’s direction in community wellbeing.

Today’s Partners in Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee discussed the charter of the existing group and began gathering input into council’s new Community Wellbeing Plan. This plan will replace the former Health, Safety and Wellbeing Plan and will encompass a broader perspective on issues facing our community.

The Maroondah Partners in Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee is one of the groups overseeing the plan and a number of workshops will be held to gather input from the committee and the broader community. Workshops will be conducted during August and September and will provide an opportunity for community service providers to provide guidance into the plan. This consultation will broadly involve four themes including the built environment, the natural environment, the environment environment and the social, cultural and health environment.

The Community Wellbeing Plan is expected to be finalised in mid 2009 and will guide council’s approach to a number of health, safety and wellbeing issues within our community.

Community Safety Week, which is planned for October was also discussed at today’s meeting and a separate meeting will be established to plan activities for the week. Connex is particularly interested in holding education sessions around safety at rail stations to ensure that people stand behind the yellow line and are mindful of ensuring that the needs for people with disabilities are respected.

The next Partners in Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee is scheduled for the 16th of September and will provide further updates on the formation of the Community Wellbeing Plan.

Maroondah Partners Health, Safety and Wellbeing committee

Published by Alex Makin on Sunday 9th of March, 2008

Thursday, 13 March 2008
9:00 am	to	10:30 am
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
9:30 am	to	11:00 am
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
9:30 am	to	11:00 am
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
9:30 am	to	11:00 am
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
9:30 am	to	11:00 am

The Maroondah Partners in Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee provides an opportunity to address issues relating to the safety of the Maroondah community. The committee includes representation from council, as well as external agencies and service providers, including the Department of Human Services, Victoria Police, Connex and Eastern Volunteers, providing a wealth of knowledge in the health and wellbeing of our community.

There are two councillors included on the committee. For the 2008 year the councillor representatives are Cr. Peter Gurr and myself. I will be chairing the committee throughout 2008.