Posts related to 'scoot wheel n move'

Scoot Wheel n Move - discussing the workshop findings

Published by Alex Makin on Friday 27th of June, 2008

Today’s Scoot Wheel n Move meeting discussed the future direction of the group, including the possibility of involving Eastern Access Community Health (EACH) as an auspice for the group.

While Scoot Wheel n Move has operated under the umbrella of Maroondah City Council, increased autonomy would strengthen the group’s ability to advocate for accessibility improvements, particularly in regard to Ringwood Station and the redevelopment of Eastland.

Scoot Wheel n Move has had tremendous success in previous years, through the establishment of a recharge program providing recharge points for motorised mobility aids, a mobility booklet and hosting a forum to discuss mobility issues within Maroondah. It is critical that this success continues so that we can further improve accessibility within Maroondah to provide a safe and comfortable environment for people with disabilities.

Eastern Access Community Health will present at the next meeting of Scoot Wheel n Move to discuss its ideas and vision for the group.

Delegates’ Report: Community sustainability through involvement

Published by Alex Makin on Monday 21st of April, 2008

On the 18th of March I attended the North Ringwood Community House Annual General Meeting. North Ringwood Community House, located at 120 Oban Road, provides a remarkable facility for our community. Sue McDermott is the new coordinator of the house and she spoke extensively about their services into the future.

North Ringwood Community House is in a unique situation where the facility is located on parish land within the Holy Spirit Primary School. The fact that the house does not own either the building or the land they are on curtails their growth and the ability to offer services and courses to Maroondah residents. North Ringwood Community House is a unique community asset and has moved beyond the traditional role of community houses by offering TAFE accredited courses in areas such as Palliative Care and Aged Care. It is it critical that the house is able to secure a solid future within Maroondah.

On the 25th of March I attended one of Enjoying Planned Retirement’s bocce afternoons. Bocce, which is conducted between December and April, is one of the many activities organised by EPR. This afternoon marked a special occasion since it included the unveiling of a new barbecue for the group. This barbecue was donated by a local Croydon resident, who is a Sales Manager for Rinnai after EPR’s original barbecue was stolen on the 12th of February and subsequently featured in a local newspaper. The strength of a community is always demonstrated during negative times and it was great to see our community rallying behind EPR to provide this new barbecue.

On the 4th of April I attended the Scoot Wheel n Move workshop. This workshop provided an opportunity to plan the future of this highly successful group, which is focused on the needs of people with mobility aids, such as wheelchairs and scooters. Scoot Wheel n Move has had a range of achievements over the past few years, including the highly successful recharge program and a number of public forums. With initiatives, such as the redevelopment of Eastland, it is imperative that accessibility is built into these projects and not merely considered as an afterthought. The feedback from the workshop will assist the future direction of Scoot Wheel n Move and ensure that these successes continue into the future.

On the 5th of April I attended a local version of the Rudd Government’s 2020 Summit as the Deputy Chair and Maroondah’s representative of the Eastern Transport Coalition. This event which was held at Monash University in Clayton provided an opportunity to include input for the summit that was held in Canberra. I attended the economic infrastructure, digital economy and future of our cities session, where the need for Federal leadership in regard to urban sustainability and public transport infrastructure was readily agreed upon. In fact, the need for public transport improvements was stressed in a number of different forum topics as it became clear that people require mobility and transport choice in accessing educational, employment and health services.

In fact, the ETC and hence by extension the City of Maroondah’s stance on public transport improvements has garnered respect far and wide, with Kelvin Thomson, the Federal Member for Wills, speaking favourably of the ETC’s approach within Federal Parliament. I will be tabling the extract of the members speech. It is clear that the approach the ETC has taken is generating results, just like when the grouping of seven councils led the successful abolition of zone three.

On the 8th of April I attended the 40th AGM of the Maroondah Citizens Advice Bureau. The Citizens Advice Bureau is another one of Maroondah’s hidden gems who are focused on assisting people in need within Maroondah through providing advice, referral services and emergency relief. Being in existence for 40 years is a testament for any volunteer and community based organisation but it is an even greater achievement for an association that is dedicated to assisting others.

Lastly, on the 15th of April I attended the Know Your Parks function at Lockhart Road Reserve. Lockhart Road Reserve is a park situated in Ringwood North next to a kindergarten and it was great to see such a strong interest in our community with this park. Over 250 people and families enjoyed the festivities and children were able to partake in the jumping castle and face painting. The sausages and balloons were a tremendous success and it was great to be able to enjoy a sunny Autumn afternoon in one of our wonderful parks.

I will be tabling the rest of my report.

Scoot Wheel n Move Workshop

Published by Alex Makin on Friday 4th of April, 2008

Scoot Wheel N Move is a council auspiced community group, which aims to improve the level of accessibility for people with mobility aids, such as wheelchairs and scooters. Initiatives such as the recharge program, the mobility booklet and public forums stemmed from Scoot Wheel n Move and it is is important to reflect on the priorities of the group to ensure that the group’s tremendous success continues.

Today’s workshop was facilitated by Access Audits Australia and provided an opportunity for participants to discuss Scoot Wheel n Move and ideas for future projects that the group can undertake. Discussions centred around extending the mobility booklet and further campaigning for the redevelopment of Ringwood Station and public transport improvements including more frequent and accessible bus services. A number of pedestrian crossings, which do not provide enough time to cross the road, were also identified as an area needing further campaigning.

Scoot Wheel n Move is a community led group and this has been the primary reason for its success. I am certain that 2008 will bring further achievements for this group.

2007 in review: standing up for the community

Published by Alex Makin on Sunday 6th of January, 2008

As we enter the final year of this current council term, it is important to reflect on the last twelve months so as to shape the priorities for 2008:

Improving Accessibility

• Ongoing advocacy calling on the State Government to redevelop Ringwood Station into an accessible and safe transport interchange;
• Supporting Scoot Wheel N Move, including the highly successful Recharge Program for motorised mobility aids;
• Regularly attending Maroondah’s Forum for People with Disabilities and Carers, so as to discuss and identify accessibility issues;
• Participating in the Good Access = Good Business accessibility forum;
• Launching Campaign Enable, a community advocacy group managed by people with disabilities.

Improving Sustainability

• Successfully advocating for the introduction of Maroondah’s Sustainability Fund, which includes one million dollars for water sustainability improvements;
• Ensuring that cost savings generated by the sustainability improvements are reinvested into the sustainability fund to generate further improvements;
• Involvement in Maroondah’s first Environment Forum, which attracted over 100 attendees and demonstrated the strong community interest in sustainability;
• Launching Maroondah’s first environmental workshop, focused on energy conservation;

Advocating for Sustainable Transport

• Securing a political commitment for the abolition of zone three, which took effect from March 2007;
• Ongoing advocacy calling on the State Government to redevelop Ringwood Station into an accessible and safe transport interchange;
• Ongoing advocacy for pedestrian improvements, particularly along Maroondah Highway;
• Successfully advocating for bus improvements, including more frequent services along Maroondah Highway and Canterbury Road;
• Successfully advocating for the introduction of a full-time sustainable transport officer, to ensure that Maroondah is at the forefront of sustainable transport;
• Fulfilling duties as the Acting Chair of the Eastern Transport Coalition, to continue regional advocacy for public transport improvements.

Standing up for the community

• Successfully saving Maidstone Park, in conjunction with the local community, from being sold by council. This community advocacy also led to the saving of parks in Bedford Road in Ringwood and Mainfold Court in Croydon;
• Completion of a new pavilion and track works at AC Robertson Athletics Track at Proclamation Park;
• Supporting youth initiatives within Maroondah, including Maroondah’s first Youth Film Festival;
• Fighting successfully to retain and re-open the Croydon Memorial Pool;
• Regularly attending seniors groups, such as Enjoying Planned Retirement;
• Assisting support groups, such as the Croydon Stroke Support group, in holding their first successful art exhibition;
• Active involvement in promoting the arts within Maroondah;
• Regularly attending a variety of community meetings and events;
• Protecting the local amenity of residents from excessive noise;
• Regularly holding meetings over planning applications, to ensure suitable planning outcomes that maintain community identity;
• Successfully continuing the Walking School Bus program, despite attempts to end the initiative by the end of 2007.

Over the course of this year I plan on continuing to stand up for the community, including through my involvement in the Committees of Management for the Maroondah Citizens’ Advice Bureau and North Ringwood Community House. I am also Maroondah’s representative on the Eastern Transport Coalition and am continuing my involvement to the Maroondah Tourism and Heritage Advisory Board. I should also be continuing as chair of the Maroondah Partners in Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee, although this will be dependent on the outcome of the notice to review that I issued for February’s council meeting.

It is critical that Maroondah becomes a leader in sustainability and accessibility. The vision for the Ringwood Transit City and Croydon Activity Centre will result in changes that will remain with us for at least 20 or 30 years. It is imperative that we get things right from the very beginning, so as not to repeat past mistakes.

I would like to thank the many people who have contacted me during 2007 to discuss issues within Maroondah. It is your calls and emails that provide me the opportunity to stand up for the community.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make Maroondah a better municipality throughout 2007.

Cr. Alex Makin

Councillor for Loughnan’s Hill Ward
City of Maroondah

Delegates’ Report: Climate change, accessibility, support groups and events for seniors

Published by Alex Makin on Monday 10th of December, 2007

Thank you, I will be tabling my delegates’ report this evening, however before I do, there are several items I plan on discussing this evening:

From the 26th through to the 30th of November I attended the Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly in Darwin. The Australian Local Government Association, is the peak body representing local councils across Australia. The national general assembly provides an opportunity for councils to debate motions of national significance with the aim of shaping the advocacy direction of ALGA. As will be detailed in the council agenda this evening, Maroondah proposed two motions, both of which were successful. Aside from the general assembly, there were also a number of speakers presenting at ALGA, including Dr. Tim Flannery who spoke about the looming environmental issues facing Australia and the world.

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report stated that:

• “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal.”
• “Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations.”

For reference, the IPCC defines ‘very likely’ as meaning a probability greater than 90%. It is therefore imperative that action is taken in regard to climate change. If there was a 90% chance of an adverse event occurring, most people would logically takes steps to prevent this, as such prevention is required to mitigate the effects of climate change.

I will be tabling a report on my attendance at AGLA , in line with council’s guidelines for accountability in regard to interstate events.

It is encouraging that as a council, Maroondah is acting on climate change and involving the community. On the 20th of November I attended Maroondah’s energy workshop, entitled ‘All About Climate Change’. This workshop provided an introduction to the issues involved around Climate Change and featured an Al Gore Ambassador who explained the concepts and the need for action. It was encouraging to see that the workshop was well attended and I would like to thank Council’s Sustainability Department for organising, planning and hosting the workshop. This will hopefully be the first of many steps that we undertake to demonstrate leadership in regard to climate change, one of the crucial issues that we will need to face as we enter the new year.

Over the past month, I attended several events hosted by Enjoying Planned Retirement (EPR), one of Maroondah’s largest and most active seniors organisations. On the 23rd of November I attended EPR’s Spotlighters Performance. Spotlighters, for those who may not be aware, is one of the 47 activities organised by EPR and consists of a musical theatre group who performed to packed out audiences over the three nights of their show. The singing, dancing and acting talents of its members provided a wonderful night of entertainment and I would like to congratulate EPR on hosting such a successful performance.

On the 4th of December I attended another one of EPR’s activities, the launch of their Bocce Season for 2008. While I suspect EPR allowed me to win at last year’s tournament, unfortunately this year I was not so lucky!

The launch provides an opportunity to showcase bocce to new EPR members and included an afternoon picnic at Norwood Hall providing a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The latest terminology in regard to seniors, appears to be the wording ‘healthy aging’, EPR typifies this concept, healthy aging with a lot of spirit. What else can you expect from a group of people that refer to themselves (and quoted directly from their recent newsletter) as ‘recycled teenagers, who want to chill-out, gross-out, max-out, space-out and have fun?’ It’s a shame I left my teenage years around a decade ago!

The Croydon Stroke Support Group, is another organisation that includes a lot of spirit and on the 6th of December I had the pleasure of attending their end of year Christmas function. The Croydon Stroke Support Group, provides an incredibly supportive atmosphere for people who had stroke and for the families that support them. The Croydon Stroke Support Group aims to restore the confidence of people who had stroke to demonstrate that that they can still participate in society. Many of its members volunteer their time not only to the organisation but also in nursing, care and other services to people outside the group. The work of the Croydon Stroke Support and its members is simply amazing.

Lastly, on the 7th of December I attended the final Scoot Wheel N Move meeting for 2007. Scoot Wheel N Move, a group I have discussed a number of times previously, aims to improve the accessibility of Maroondah and has organised a number of successful projects. I would like to congratulate Maroondah’s new MetroAccess worker in hosting a successful meeting and for discussing the future direction of the group. 2008 will be an exciting time for Scoot Wheel N Move and it is imperative that the group’s advocacy voice is as strong as possible, particularly to ensure that major projects such as Eastland are accessible and inclusive for an entire community.

Being the final meeting for 2007, I would like to thank the many groups who have invited me to functions over the past year and I am looking forward to attending further events in 2008.

• View: Report on the 2007 Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly