Media Release

Friday, 6 November 2009

Last week the CEO, MAV delegate Cr Norton, Cr Quayle and I attended the Municipal Association of Victoria's (MAV) State Council and conference, which not only had a range of excellent guest speakers and an opportunity to mix with councils and politicians, but also enabled councils to present a unified front to put forward motions to the MAV to act on and that we would also like the State and Federal Governments to action.

Among a number of motions, including ongoing drought support and increased funding for the Community Planning program (which enables communities to identify what they would like to see in their town and for Council to deliver the aspirations of this community) was the motion to extend the natural gas network to our region.

Natural gas and bringing this energy source to our region has been in the news a bit lately and there are a number of other councils within our state who are in a similar situation and would like to see the extension of the natural gas network throughout Victoria. Therefore, this particular motion was amended accordingly to reflect not just our region, but other councils as well.

What's more, we were fortunate enough to be able to have a brief discussion with the Premier, Mr John Brumby regarding the region's Regional Energy Plan and to be able to deliver this plan to him in person. The Premier informed me that he had actually already read the plan and although timelines were tight up until Christmas, he would make room to meet with us in the lead up to Christmas regarding the plan.

I would like to thank the Premier very much for making a commitment to meet and we're very appreciative and pleased that he has not only read the Regional Energy Plan, but will also take the time to meet with us regarding the region's energy needs.

The next morning, we also got the chance to briefly meet with the Minister for Regional and Rural Development Jacinta Allan, who was giving a presentation during breakfast, and took the opportunity to also give the Minister a copy of the Regional Energy Plan.

It was also pleasing to hear Minister Allan state on ABC radio that same morning that she will also be willing to meet with us to discuss future plans regarding energy in the North West, which we are looking forward to very much.

All in all, it was a very worthwhile conference, not just in terms of taking these small steps regarding natural gas, but also the opportunity to present a united front with other councils who face the same energy shortage as our region and we're looking forward to meeting with the Premier and Minister Allan in the very near future to discuss the Regional Energy Plan.