Family Fun Day

Come and join the Ardeer and Sunshine West Community and show your support for putting the powerlines underground. Sunday 7th November 1pm, Ardeer Community Park, Forrest St. Click here for more information.

31.3.10

Werribee Plains Sustainability Framework released

http://www.acfonline.org.au/default.asp?section_id=260


The Werribee Plains Regional Environmental Sustainability Framework was released last week at Victoria University, Sunshine and the framework has been uploaded to the ACF website today. The Framework is a huge disappointment for residents of the West who urgently want the Brumby Government to demonstrate leadership on emissions and climate change.

Geraldine Brooks, Greens candidate for the lower house seat for Derrimut attended the launch and said “I am extremely upset that this is an opportunity that has been squandered. The research undertaken by the Australian Conservation Foundation clearly states that industry is the biggest energy waster and yet almost the entire focus for solutions in this framework is put on to households”.

The metal manufacturing, and petroleum and coal industries are responsible for nearly half of all emissions and that figure does not include the building industry or agriculture which account for further large contributions. Brimbank is number one for energy emissions; however while households in Brimbank had the lowest per capita emissions at 6.8 M tonnes, industry was responsible for around 17M tonnes

We cannot address the issue of zero emissions in Victoria until the Brumby government is willing to take on poor practice in industry in a real way and for that we need a complete shift in our thinking, not business as usual with some tinkering at the edges. Some of these industries may just not be needed any more and the jobs need to be relocated in more sustainable sectors such as renewable energy creation, for example, through a container deposit scheme.

While the data clearly acknowledges the link between lack of access to public transport, increased car use and decreased housing density in Moorabool as contributing to the highest per capita energy emissions, it utterly fails to advocate for ceasing housing development in areas of Melbourne with large travel distances,and immediately call a halt to the outer metropolitan ring road and the Sunshine West tollway.

30.3.10

Bottle shop in West Sunshine not wanted

I was recently contacted by a local resident over the issue of council approval for a liquor outlet in West Sunshine. On visiting the bottle shop it was clear that the area already has too many opportunities to purchase alcohol and the location is completely inappropriate.

Brimbank Council and the Department of Justice have approved a permit for a liquor outlet in Glengala Rd West Sunshine while local police and community members are battling alcohol issues within the area.
Geraldine Brooks, Greens candidate for the lower house seat of Derrimut said “Residents are angry that they have been told by Council there is nothing they can do and they have no elected councillors who can advocate on their behalf to stop this shop from selling alcohol only metres from where children go to school”.

At first Council denied knowing about the application but after residents contacted the Department of Justice it was found Council had the opportunity to voice concerns but did not.

Local Resident Larrissa Stewart points out that “There are already 3 alcohol outlets on Glengala Rd and at least 8 within a 3km radius. This premises is located directly across the road from a secondary school campus and less than 15 metres to the west is a manned children’s crossing catering for the school children. Located less than 200 metre along the same road (east) is a hotel with packaged liquor facilities”.

“Ardeer and West Sunshine have significant alcohol problems amongst young people and this irresponsible decision will only lead to more alcohol fuelled antisocial behaviour and long term health problems in our community” said Geraldine.




Follow the link below to see the story ran in the local paper the Advocate.

http://www.the-advocate.com.au/news/local/news/general/sunshine-west-bottle-shop-raises-ire/1788752.aspx

24.3.10

Ardeer, Albion, Sunshine community forum - Tuesday 23rd March

The forum was well attended last night with about 80 residents having an opportunity to voice their real concerns about councils priorities for our area. It was clear from the discussion that our community want the priorities reviewed. We want parks not roads which is what I had been advocating for in council during my term - to deaf ears!

Community members present raised issues about the need for more and better green spaces, better quality shopping precincts, the future of the sunvale site, the need for support for community groups and meeting spaces that are affordable and high quality, leadership and governance development, access to sporting facilities that are currently leased to just one group, services and spaces for our young people and much much more...

While Brimbank's administrators and the Brumby government might want everything in Sunshine to go quiet before the state election, it is clear the issues in our area have not gone away.

22.3.10


Western suburbs says NO to Racism

I attended a rally in Footscray over the weekend where community members came together to express support for residents born oversees and tell the state and federal governments that racism in Australia, especially state sponsored racism that says refugees are not welcome is NOT on.

19.3.10


No Road Tunnel - new map shows community very close to this road

this map of the proposed Westlink study area, which has been extended to residential areas(the Northern side-Rupert st) and extending the tunnel exit to residential areas along the Cedar Woods Housing development site along Cross st.

18.3.10

from the news

Brimbank house prices still rising
newsLocal News20 Mar 10 @ 06:00am by Andre Awadalla
BRIMBANK’S median house prices are still on the rise, according to new State Government figures.

2.3.10


DIABETES EPIDEMIC WESTERN SUBURBS

The Green’s candidate for the State seat of Derrimut, Geraldine Brooks, says the State Government must begin funding and establishing parks in the western suburbs following the release of a report that found the western suburbs are in the grip of a diabetes epidemic.
The Australian Community Centre for Diabetes found one in seven residents of the west have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes compared with the State average of one in thirty.
According to the report, a staggering one in every three residents aged over 55 living in the western suburb of Ardeer, has diabetes with two new cases diagnosed every day in the City of Brimbank.
Brooks, and a group of parents from Ardeer, spent five years fundraising to turn a large abandoned space that housed a former lead factory into a park, the only park in Ardeer.
Brooks says, “Our community needs safe, green, attractive, destinations that we can walk to. Our community experiences higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and mental illness; with repeated studies showing this is attributable to lower income and lack of open spaces and quality parks. It is discrimination. People living in the east enjoy better health because of greater access to parks.”

1.3.10

Waste management

At last- sane analysis of the Brumby government’s future plans for waste from Kenneth Davidson (The Age, 1/3/ 2010).
As a local councillor I was being told by the Western Metropolitan Waste Management Group that there were many advantages of moving to a mega ‘in vessel’ composting facility that would cost Brimbank Council in the order of $75.00 to $90.00 per tonne. These included, assisting council with meeting the 65% diversion target in the Government’s Toward Zero Waste strategy by composting the food waste component which currently makes up just over half of the waste stream. Selling an unproven waste treatment scheme to councils was on the top of their agenda as was telling us at the same time that a Container Deposit Scheme which is already proven and works well in many countries is not worth considering.
The State government is spending $10M to develop the business case to set up organics processing plants as a profitable business for SITA. Where is the analysis of funding local councils to help residents compost their food waste and return it to their own backyard veggie patches?..but there isn’t profit to be made in that.