Month: March 2007

Media Release: Calling on Maroondah's young film makers

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Maroondah’s budding young film makers still have the opportunity to enter the Snippets Youth Short Film Festival, with registrations closing on Friday 30 March.

Councillor Alex Makin said the festival gives young people who have an interest in film a fantastic opportunity to get involved and express their creative side.

“Snippets Youth Short Film Festival is a great event because it gives young people a chance to be creative and use their imagination. I encourage all young people to consider getting involved, be they novices or experienced film makers,” said Cr Makin.

“The films will be shown at Hoyts Eastland in April, as part of National Youth Week Celebrations, which will give the film makers some great exposure within the community. Some of the worlds best directors have been discovered at film festivals!” said Cr Makin.

Snippets Youth Short Film Festival is being run as part of an awareness campaign for Ybblue- the youth program of Beyond Blue which is a national depression initiative.

Cr Makin said the festival is aimed at promoting the benefits creative expression can have on mental health.

“Expressing ourselves creatively plays an important part in maintaining a healthy mind and body. I think the film festival is not only giving young people a great opportunity to do this, but it is also highlighting an important issue that can affect young people – depression,” said Cr Makin.

Registrations for the Snippets Youth Short Film Festival close on Friday 30 March, with completed films required by April 6.

The Snippets Youth Short Film Festival will be shown at Hoyts Eastland from 7.30pm on Thursday 19 April.

For further information contact Maroondah Youth Services on 9298 4373.

Enjoying Planning Retirement – 2007 Bocce Season

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This afternoon I was invited by Enjoying Planned Retirement (EPR) to the bocce season at Norwood Park.  Enjoying Planned Retirement is a vibrant club which consists of over 400 members and provides a wealth of activities for Maroondah’s senior citizens.

Bocce, originated in Italy and is similar to lawn bowls. EPR holds regular bocce tournaments and I had the pleasure of being a participant in the game. The game is played between teams consisting of two people and the winning team continues through the tournament to the grand final.

Bocce is just one of the many regular and entertaining activities organised by EPR, based at Norwood Park, along Warrandyte Road in Ringwood North.

Delegates' report: Student aspirations and future sustainability

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On the 8th of March I attended the launch of a Swinburne University of Technology commissioned report entitled ‘are we fostering enterprising young people?’, which benchmarked student aspirations within the outer east. Innovation and enterprise are the key drivers are key economic drivers for economic prosperity and it is therefore imperative that these skills are encouraged and fostered within our community.

Unfortunately it would appear that these aspirations are largely not being met within the eastern region. This is uncovered within the report, which showed there a significant gap between high school students wishing to commence further education and those that are actually undertake such education.

Likewise there were significant gaps between students wishing to seek employment within the eastern region and those that were actually able to fulfil this aspiration. The report highlights a number challenges in fostering and retaining enterprising youth within our region and I will be tabling a summary of the Swinburne findings with my delegates’ report.

On the 4th of March I attended a public rally organised by SCOOP and I would like to commend SCOOP for their ongoing advocacy in regard to the Croydon Memorial Pool. The public rally, which included a march of support for the outdoor pool, was extremely well attended and well-organised and included cooperation with the local police to ensure that all traffic and pedestrians issues were addressed.

I attended Croydon Conservation Society AGM on the 15th March. The Croydon Conservation Society has been in existence for over 40 years and is Maroondah’s leading conservation society.

The AGM featured a guest on water policy from the Department of Human Services who spoke about the potential adverse health risks that must be managed as we attempt source alternative water supplies due to our dwindling reservoirs.

It is quite clear that there is a severe gap in the current State Government framework that regulates alternative water supplies such as recycled water, storm water and bore water and it is imperative that this is rectified to ensure that as a council we are not being hamstrung by a lack of State Government guidelines in investigating and implementing alternative water supplies.

I will be tabling the rest of my report with a copy of the Swinburne University findings.

2007 Croydon Conservation Society AGM

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The Croydon Conservation Society (CCS), which has existed for over 40 years, is Maroondah’s pre-eminent environmental society. Tonight the group held its Annual General Meeting, which featured a policy officer from the Department of Humans Services’ water program.

With diminishing water supplies a number of alternatives, such as stormwater, grey water and bore water, have been proposed to augment current supplies, although the potential health implications are not readily understood. The Department of Human Services is currently preparing some guidelines to aid industry and householders in understanding the suitability of these water alternatives for various applications, such as drinking water, washing and gardening.

Unfortunately significant policy gaps currently exist in being able to satisfactorily regulate and monitor the usage of water alternatives. This problem is further compounded by the lack of a central regulator that approves water saving technology.

In particular the use of recycled water within industry remains largely unexplored and there is currently no requirement for new developments to incorporate alternative water supplies within their proposals. While Maroondah has very few remaining large-scale greenfield sites, there is the need for the state government to investigate water conservation in areas undergoing urban consolidation such as Ringwood and Croydon.

Water conservation is just one of the many issues pursued by the Croydon Conservation Society. For further information on the Croydon Cosnervation Society please home.vicnet.net.au/~croycons.

The Age: Tolls urged to cut traffic

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The Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission report into traffic congestion was releases today, along with the State Government’s response to its recommendations.

The report, which was covered in The Age, has painted a dire picture for Melbourne’s worsening traffic congestion and its recommendations, which included much needed rail extensions and better bus services, rightfully called on the Government to take immediate action in tackling this situation.

Public Transport Users Association president Alex Makin said the report revealed holes in the Government’s transport policy. “There’s a need pointed out by the commission to accelerate bus and train projects, but the Government rests on its laurels saying these issues have been addressed in last year’s transport plan,” Mr Makin said.

The State Government can no longer afford to ignore Melbourne’s worsening traffic congestion. Melbourne requires expansion of the rail network in line with urban growth, logical extensions to the tram network and vastly improved bus services. It is only through providing real transport choice, in the form of being able to catch public transport, that the Government can mitigate rising traffic congestion.

Media Release: Don't miss Council's Chemical Collection day

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Maroondah City Council in conjunction with Sustainability Victoria will collect potentially dangerous, unwanted and old household products for free on Saturday 24 March.

Councillor Alex Makin said too many avoidable poisonings happen around the family home, and the cause is often left over weedkiller or paintstripper stored either in the home or in the garden shed.

“This free chemical collection service is a great opportunity to clean out those unwanted household chemicals and poisonous materials that are lurking in the garage, garden shed, bathroom cabinet, kitchen cupboards or laundry. Simply bring them to Council’s Depot on Saturday 24 March,” said Cr Makin.

Items which can be collected include unwanted paints, old batteries and gas cylinders, as well as insecticides, photographic chemicals, brake fluids, pool chemicals, poisonous household and garden products.

The collected materials will be treated and then recycled or disposed of safely by the specialist team.

People can bring in as many items as they wish, however, 20-litre size containers are the maximum accepted.

Putting unused chemicals in the rubbish bin is illegal and dangerous as they go to landfill where they can cause significant environmental problems. Tipping them down stormwater drains causes pollution of our waterways and it’s illegal to put them down the sink or toilet.

“All you have to do on Saturday 24 March is safely and securely load your chemicals into the car, drive to Council’s Depot and wait in your car until the collectors come and take the chemicals from you,” said Cr Makin.

For everyone’s safety, please avoid smoking on site, switch off car engines while unloading and make sure children and pets stay in the car.

“Council’s Depot can only accept chemicals on this Household Chemical Collection Day, and cannot take chemicals on any other day. So, be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to safely dispose of those unwanted chemicals,” said Cr Makin.

Householders can deposit their unwanted household chemicals at Maroondah City Council Operations Depot , 24-28 Lincoln Road, Croydon on Saturday 24 March 2007 from 8am to 4pm.

Indigenous Cultural Awareness Program

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Over the past three weeks the Heathmont Uniting Church Community Living Centre, in conjunction with the Maroondah Movement for Reconciliation, has been running an Indigenous cultural awareness program, facilitated by Shane Charles the Pathways Coordinator from Swinburne University.

Today’s session, which marked the conclusion of the program, discussed some of the current issues facing indigenous Australia. While there is an increasing focus on governance for the committees of management that preside over indigenous programs, a number of these projects are being stymied by the continued buck-passing that occurs between State and Federal Governments.

Improving the health, education and wellbeing of indigenous Australia will only occur when there is a coordinated approach between all levels of government. The City of Maroondah is currently preparing an indigenous policy to assist the council’s involvement in this issue but holistic and coordinated approaches are also required by the other tiers of government.

Swinburne University: Enterprise and student aspirations in the outer east

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This afternoon I was invited to the Lilydale campus of Swinburne University to hear the findings of the report Are we fostering enterprising young people? Student aspirations in outer eastern Melbourne.

The report measured the educational and career aspirations of Year 10 in the outer east of Melbourne, the inclination towards running a businesses and overall awareness of pathways into higher education. This data allowed to the report to track student knowledge of education and career options and aspirations as well as the intention to work and live in the region.

The report found that student aspirations such as seeking further study are not being met within the outer eastern region with significant gaps emerging with achieving this goal. This demonstrates the potential for alternative pathways programs to help achieve these aspirations and stimulate enterprise within the outer east.

The report Are we fostering enterprising young people? Student aspirations in outer eastern Melbourne. is available from www.ld.swin.edu.au/crd.

Media Release: Discover Maroondah Federation Estate

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Finish off the Maroondah Summer Events Series with a great family day of discovery at Maroondah Federation Estate on Saturday 24 March.

Councillor Alex Makin invites the Maroondah community to come along and enjoy a range of free activities and workshops including yoga, mosaics, drawing and painting as well as a free sausage sizzle.

“All workshops are free on the day and offer a great opportunity for our local community to discover for themselves some of the art and lifestyle classes that are on offer at Maroondah Federation Estate during each school term,” said Cr Makin.

“This is also a great chance to discover the wonderful Maroondah Art Gallery and the latest exhibition: Heading North. During the afternoon the Gallery will be hosting artist talks by Andrea Draper and Nusra Latif Qureshi, two contemporary Asian artists in Australia who are part of the current exhibition,” said Cr Makin.

“People of all ages and abilities will delight in discovering the Amazing Space @ Federation, Maroondah’s award winning accessible playground for people of all ages and abilities. Spend some time playing pirates in the ship, traversing the mazes or playing with the interactive equipment,” said Cr Makin.

Free workshops on the day include:

Yoga: mini half hour classes all afternoon commencing at 1pm will allow you to discover the benefits of yoga. Melissa will take you through some gentle and relaxing movements and postures.

Children & Adult Drawing: tap into your artistic abilities at this informal workshop. Drawing and still life will be available for you to try with activities available throughout the afternoon.

Mosaics: learn basic skills, have a go at cutting and applying tiles, available throughout the afternoon.

Lost Wax Casting (Jewellery Making): discover lost wax casting techniques and make items using metal.

Maroondah Federation Estate Open Day is from 1pm to 4pm on Saturday 24 March. You can find Maroondah Federation Estate at 32 Greenwood Avenue, Ringwood (Melways Map 49 H10). Parking is available, including accessible parking.

For further information contact 9298 4553.

– ENDS –

Maroondah Leader: no promise on track

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Despite Ringwood’s status as a Transit City and support from both the community and Maroondah Council to transform Ringwood into a vibrant urban community, the State Government has continued to drag its feet in providing the funding necessary for the redevelopment of Ringwood Station.

Maroondah councillor Alex Makin said the Government should “put its money where its mouth is”, back its Melbourne 2030 planning blueprint with a genuine funding commitment and provide “a catalyst for private investment”.

The Minister for Planning, Justin Madden, toured Ringwood on the 21st of February but failed to provide any indication as to whether Ringwood Station would receive funding for the upgrade.

“Year in and year out we have been told Ringwood station is on the agenda, but we have not received funding,” Cr Makin said.

The full redevelopment of Ringwood Station, which would probably cost around $40 million would serve as a catalyst for further investment in Ringwood. The Station, which is currently perceived to be unsafe and fails disability compliance requirements, requires an urgent overhaul and would demonstrate that the State Government is serious about its Melbourne 2030 metropolitan strategy and the goal of encouraging public transport usage and urban development within activity centres.

“Until the State Government provides a signal that it is prepared to invest in Ringwood, we are just going to wait around for private investment.”

The upcoming State Budget will be a key litmus test for Melbourne 2030 and the Government’s supposed commitment to the Transit Cities program. The Ringwood community is quickly losing patience with the State Government’s continued failure to deliver the necessary upgrade to Ringwood Station.