Whittlesea backs refugees

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August 14, 2018

THE City of Whittlesea will take a stand against the federal government after passing an urgent business item about supporting refugees.

Mayor, Cr Kris Pavlidis, who doubles as the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria chairperson, rose to ask the council for their support for the Victorian Local Government Joint Statement Against Changes to the Status Resolution Support Service for People Seeking Asylum.

The council decided to formally adopt the urgent item which will see the City of Whittlesea call on the federal government to reverse the assessment changes on the Status Resolution Support Services program and to continue to provide to funding for vulnerable residents.

Cr Pavlidis said she was pleased the motion passed.

“I am really pleased that the council has continued to lead in the debate by moving the urgent motion. This demonstrates the commitment to people setting in our community and realising their vulnerability,” she said.

“I think the essence of the motion is for people to be able to join our community. It is incumbent of citizens to give a helping hand when needed.

“This is basic survival. Their food, housing costs and being able to live. It is basic living needs. It isn’t enough to stamp a passport. Particularly with people arriving with trauma, maybe under tragic situations that we can’t fathom, so we can’t understand their plight.”

Federal Member for McEwen commended the council on their decision to support refugees.

“The City of Whittlesea has a long history of supporting migrant residents and refugees,” he said.

“They need to be commended for their leadership.

“As we are in opposition [Labor party], we have a solid policy to discuss about refugees but the main thing for us is returning decency to people.

“We need to protect children, look after people… we don’t support the hap hazard way the government has cut support to refugees.”

$5 million sports promise

The North Central Review

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August 14, 2018

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SPORT in the Macedon Ranges could get a massive boost with the Labor government promising $5.6 million to build the first stage of the Macedon Ranges Regional Sports Precinct if re-elected.

Premier Daniel Andrews made the announcement in New Gisborne on Friday alongside Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas and representatives from local sporting clubs who will directly benefit from the project.

As part of the Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s Precinct plan, the work will see a new grass oval, a synthetic surface sports field accommodating football, soccer and cricket, a pavilion, new tennis and netball courts, outdoor gym equipment and play spaces, barbeques and a track for walking, cycling and running.

The Precinct will be spread across two connecting sites in New Gisborne at the corner of Barringo Road and Hamilton Road, but will benefit communities from across the region.

The new Sports Precinct will be accessible to local teams, with the Gisborne Bulldogs Football Netball Club, the Gisborne Rookies Junior Football and the Gisborne Dragons Cricket Club all set to benefit.

The first stage of the project will see the two sports fields and accompanying pavilion built while funding is still being sought for the indoor sports stadium part of the precinct.

First impression: This is what the Macedon Ranges Regional Sports Precinct could potentially look like.

Mr Andrews said the project represents politics at its best.

“When local communities have a great idea, they work with local government and their local representative to develop that concept into a plan and try to secure funding to make that a reality,” he said.

“It’s not just great for Gisborne; it’s fantastic for the entire Macedon Ranges… it’s going to be a great centre of activity and a real showcase for this community.”

Ms Thomas said the project will help alleviate the pressure on facilities in the Macedon Ranges, especially on Gardiner Reserve which hosts 20 football teams and 30 cricket teams.

“This is a game changer for sport across the Macedon Ranges and for families. We have higher than average participation rates in a whole range of sports and the Macedon Ranges Regional Sports Precinct is about delivering the facilities we need so we can continue to grow sport in this region,” she said.

“Whether it’s watching the mighty Gisborne Bulldogs or a kick to kick on the weekend, I know how much this investment will mean to local families.”

Shifts Alive

The North Central Review

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August 14, 2018

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BROADFORD is seeing an employment boost with the Nestlé factory moving to 24 hour operations five days per week.

The expansion comes on the back of the success of Allen’s range of classic favourites, personalised products, gifts and limited edition sweets. The factory is the largest private employer in Mitchell Shire

The factory produces favourites such as Snakes Alive and Party Mix, as well as nostalgic lines such as Green Frogs and Spearmint Leaves.

Member for Euroa, Steph Ryan, officially pushed the button to start a third shift at Broadford on Monday August 6.

She joined factory manager Vince Giovanniello and workers at 11pm that night to celebrate the creation of 15 new jobs.

“From now on, the factory will run 24 hours a day which is sweet news for Broadford. The decision to extend the Broadford factory from two to three shifts has boosted employment,” Ms Ryan said.

The new jobs brings total employment at the factory to 275.

Factory manager Vince Giovanniello said that he was proud to see the company supporting local jobs and local manufacturing.

“It is great to bring more people in to join us in the sweetest jobs in Australia. We produce 240 million snakes a year here at Broadford. Head to tail they would make a line 36,000 kilometres long, enough to wrap around the moon three times,” Mr Giovanniello said.

Contributing to the statistical Olympics Ms Ryan added that the factory produces enough Party Mix to fill an Olympic size swimming pool each year and the equivalent weight of four full grown African elephants in raspberries.

The Broadford factory is located close to the Hume Freeway, where new housing estates are continuing to be developed.

“As the population of Broadford and other towns in the northern growth corridor increase, so too does the demand for employment. Nestlé is taking a big step towards meeting some of this demand.” Ms Ryan added.

“As Broadford’s population grows, so too does the demand for employment. Adding an extra shift to run 24 hours helps meet some of this demand.”

More support for neighbourhood houses

The North Central Review

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August 7, 2018

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FOUR neighbourhood houses in the Macedon Ranges will be able to deliver an extra five hours of support with funding delivered by the state government.

Lancefield Neighbourhood House, Romsey Neighbourhood House, Macedon Ranges Further Education Centre, and Riddells Creek Neighbourhood House will each receive $14,760 to deliver 25 coordination hours per week.

A total of 162 neighbourhood houses across Victoria are getting additional coordination hours, which will give families improved access to employment, training and volunteering opportunities as part of a record $21.8 million investment to deliver an extra 76,700 hours each year.

The additional coordination hours will help staff and volunteers provide activities and services like language classes, computer tutoring, health and well-being activities, life skills lessons, self-help groups and occasional childcare.

Almost 200,000 people visit a neighbourhood house or use their services every week in Victoria, bringing people together to connect, learn and contribute with fellow community members.

Additional funding through the Victorian Budget 2018/19 will also allow mobile neighbourhood house networkers to spend 4800 extra hours with individual houses to improve access to key services and activities.

Victoria has more than 400 neighbourhood houses across the state within 16 networks. Neighbourhood house networkers have responsibility for visiting and supporting houses in their area to ensure the community is getting the best service possible.

Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas said neighbourhood houses are an important part of Victoria and the Macedon Ranges.

“From community lunches to IT training, from boomerang bags to community advocacy, there’s always something going on at our Neighbourhood Houses to build and strengthen our communities – it is wonderful to be able to increase their funding,” she said.

The roof is failing

The North Central Review

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August 7, 2018

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THE indoor swimming pool at Kilmore Leisure Centre will be closed for several months due to safety concerns with the roof structure.

The pool closed on July 31 and will remain closed for several months, possibly longer, while a contractor can be secured and the roof can be replaced.

The facility started life as Kilmore’s outdoor pool and was enclosed to become an indoor heated pool in 1994 – not without issues.

The January 12, 1993 issue of the Kilmore Free Press announced that the redevelopment ‘continued to be shrouded in controversy’ due to the need for the then Kilmore Shire Council to accept a revised tender of $1.4 million for the redevelopment.

The report on the December meeting saw Cr Bob Cornish’s successful recession motion stall the acceptance of the revised tender until the February 1994 council meeting when council finally approved the revised tender.

The pool project was completed in October of that year only to be shut down in December to fix what the then acting CEO, Neil McGaffin, described as ‘teething problems’.

Paint had started to lift on sections of the pool.

The pool was partly drained and the repairs over eight days of the Christmas New Year break saw residents high and dry at the peak of a Kilmore summer.

There were also issues with the solar heating system that had not been made fully operational due to water movement issues relating to the pool and the balance tank. There are sporadic reports in the Kilmore Free Press over the years of water related issues impacting the roof area.

The closure will affect approximately 40 mostly casual or sessional staff as well as some 2500 visits by residents to the pool each week.

Mitchell Shire Council Chief Executive Officer David Turnbull acknowledged the closure would have a significant impact on the community and staff, but it was necessary to protect their safety.

“Council has been monitoring the roof condition for some time and it is very disappointing to be in this position given we were progressing with plans to replace the roof and we had carried out some remedial work as recently as June to get through to summer,” Mr Turnbull said.

“However, based on the latest advice from two independent structural engineers, there was really no other choice but to close immediately. The safety of pool users and staff is of paramount importance.”

Mr Turnbull said Council was working to get the pool back up and running as soon as possible, but it was likely to be closed for several months, if not longer.

“It is hoped the repairs will be compete in time for Term 1 swim school in 2019, but this will depend on a lot of factors outside of our control and there are no guarantees of that at this stage,” Mr Turnbull said.

“This is an evolving situation and we will provide more details around likely timelines as we know more. Council has suspended Kilmore pool membership payments.

Teens ‘mugged’ before basketball

The North Central Review

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August 7, 2018

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WHITTLESEA City Basketball Association has urged its members to be careful after two teenagers were ‘mugged’ on their way to the basketball stadium.

The organisation revealed the police were formally dealing with the matter.

In a public statement released via Facebook, the Association said the two youngsters were injured.

“It has come to our attention today that two students at 8.30am this morning were coming to Mill Park Basketball Stadium to play school basketball, and were mugged and attacked resulting in injuries (sic),” the statement said.

“They were approached for cigarettes and drugs if they had any, when they said they didn’t, they were attacked.

“We advise that when coming to and leaving the stadium at odd hours to walk in groups and certainly not alone.

“This matter, from today, is under police investigation.”

Victoria Police confirmed the investigation was formally underway.

A spokesperson told the Whittlesea Review a 17-year-old was assaulted during the incident.

“Police are investigating an alleged assault at a basketball court in Mill Park on August 2,” they said.

“It’s understood the victim and his friend were stopped by two males sitting inside a grey SUV, about 8.30am

“The two teenagers inside the vehicle asked the victim and his friend for cigarettes and drugs.

“When the victim declined, the offenders exited the vehicle and assaulted the 17-year old male.

“He received minor facial injuries. The offenders then fled in the grey SUV.”

Any with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.

NBN rollout splits communities

The North Central Review

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August 1, 2018

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by Jackson Russell

RESIDENTS in Gisborne and Riddells Creek have expressed their concern with the quality of service the National Broadband Network (NBN) is delivering.

Federal Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell said the government’s technology choices have split communities into ‘haves and have nots’.

Riddells Creek resident Jim Walker told The Free Press he will be forced to switch to a fixed wireless NBN service, which is significantly slower and more expensive that his current ADSL2+ service.

“Right now, I get 1.5TB of downloads for $70 a month but when NBN comes along, I’ll be going onto fixed wireless and the best I can work out is I would be getting 200GB for the same price,” he said.

“Because of the signal strength, I’m estimating the speed I’ll be getting will be half of what I get with ADSL2+. I currently get 5-6Mbps in the evenings, which is just okay for streaming video.”

Mr Mitchell said cases like Mr Walker’s highlight the issues of the Multi-Technology Mix rollout.

“The fixed wireless services will provide customers with download speeds of 12Mbps, while customers with fibre will enjoy 100Mbps – and in some cases, we’re talking people living across the street from each other,” he said.

“This significantly impacts regional Australia which has been left stranded on slower speeds and poor service.”

Of the 1499 households in Riddells Creek, 58 per cent will be connected via Fibre to the Node (FTTN) and 42 percent via fixed wireless with only a small portion of the Rangeview Estate receiving Fibre to the Premise (FTTP).

Some residents bought houses in the estate under the impression their properties would be connected to the FTTP network but recently checked the rollout map to find their property had been switched to the FTTN despite being much closer to a FTTP cabinet.

Gisborne residents who weren’t content with their FTTN service banded together to look at installing FTTP to their ten properties.

In 2013, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said households or small businesses would have the option to pay around $3000 to upgrade their existing copper connection to fibre.

The quote the group received said it would cost a total of $85,264 to upgrade the properties’ connections.

Mr Mitchell said the Prime Minister has broken his commitment to keep prices low.

“I spoke to one Sunbury resident this week who was quoted $13,746 to switch his property from copper to fibre. It’s a mess, the government’s maths on this seems to be entirely made up and the ones who are left in the lurch are small businesses and families in our communities,” he said.

Pokies play Whittlesea

The North Central Review

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July 31, 2018

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CITY of Whittlesea Mayor Kris Pavlidis has joined mayors from five other metropolitan councils to publicly launch The Alliance for Gambling Reform’s policies.

The Alliance, formed by Tim Costello, wants maximum $1 bets at poker machines, to reduce maximum operating hours to 14, reduce daily cash withdrawal from $500 to $200 and to strengthen the duty of care for venues and staff to prevent customer harm

Cr Pavlidis said Whittlesea residents would lose a massive $36million to the pokies between now and the election.

“Surely no responsible authority can think that this is acceptable. The City of Whittlesea certainly doesn’t think it’s acceptable. As a responsible authority, we are very concerned,” she said.

“Our councils are dealing with the dire consequences of pokies.
As community leaders we are standing together to make sure pokies reform is a key state election issue. Enough is enough.

“As Mayors we are putting all political parties on notice that it’s time for pokies reform. Our communities are suffering from gambling harm and it’s only getting worse.

“As community leaders we want reform. We call on the state government and opposition parties to commit to $1 maximum bets, clamp down on losses disguised as wins and reduce venue opening hours.”

Alliance spokesman and director Tim Costello welcomed the unprecedented commitment of local government leaders to the vital community cause of addressing Australia’s world record levels of gambling harm.

“Councils such as Whittlesea are at the coal face of gambling harm and I sincerely welcome the commitment of Cr Pavlidis to the cause of fixing this blight on Australian society,” he said.

“Councils are at the coal face of gambling harm and are not conflicted by the tax revenue or intimidated by an industry which has exerted way too much power over our major political parties, leaving Australia with the largest per capita gambling losses in the world.

“Whittlesea is joining with other councils to say ‘enough is enough’ – as the local government sector unites like never before to demand action from our political leaders.”

Whittlesea Council has launched its Pokies Play Whittlesea campaign and is seeking 10,000 supporters to its online petition in the lead up to the election.

Nominating a hero

The North Central Review

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July 31, 2018

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LIAM BIRCH has nominated the man who saved his life for a First Aid Champion Award.

The young Wallan footballer, who is recovering from a cardiac arrest he suffered recently, made the call to nominate the man who rushed on the field to deliver CPR before a defibrillator could be taken out on the field.

Liam said he would nominate Mr Freeman for 100 awards if he could.

“He deserves it. He saved my life,” Liam said.

“He is a hero and deserves all the best… I was trying to think of ways to say thank you and this is just another way to say it.

“I would nominate him 100 times, he deserves them all.”

The St John Ambulance Victoria award recognises people who go the extra effort to help others.

Consisting of five categories, the First Aid Champion Awards recognise that First Aid is a vital skill to have, irrespective of age, gender, background or health status.

Liam’s Dad, Adam, said actions of others was vital.

“All of the actions of others, they all played a part in saving Liam’s life, without Tony Liam wouldn’t be here most likely,” he said.

“Being a first responder is so important. The event was traumatic at the time but we are all moving through it.”

St John Ambulance Victoria Chief Executive Gordon Botwright said the awards were a good step toward recognising unsung heroes.

“First Aid training is always such an important skill to have, no matter what age you are, and we hope to acknowledge all age groups, workplaces, schools, community groups and of course our volunteers, without whom our work wouldn’t be possible,” Mr Botwright said.

Seniors park officially opens

The North Central Review

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July 31, 2018

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A SENIORS group in Mernda is calling on the City of Whittlesea to expand their seniors’ exercise park program through the region.

The calls come off the back of the City of Whittlesea’s announcement a seniors park was built in Thomastown – the first in the region.

Mernda Senior Citizens Club secretary Lorraine Smyth said establishing a network of senior friendly spaces through the region would improve the resident’s’ quality of life.

“A lot of people, especially in Mernda and even in Whittlesea, don’t have a lot of alternative options or room,” she said.

“A lot of people don’t want to, or can’t play sports like lawn bowls because of bad knees or hip replacements, but want a place to be able to walk around or socialise.

“I think getting more of these through the area would be good. It will help people stay healthy mind and body to live a good life.”

The park, a first of its kind in the City of Whittlesea, includes a balance beam, core twister, hip spring and more.

Mayor Kris Pavlidis said the area also included a shelter and seating making it a welcoming space for the whole family.

“While a relatively new concept for Australia, these parks are popular in Europe and the United States,” Cr Pavlidis said.

“We’re pleased to build our first in the City of Whittlesea.

“With the rapidly ageing population in the City of Whittlesea, it is important that there is outdoor leisure activity for the wellbeing of our senior citizens.”

The park has been made possible thanks to funding from Gandel Philanthropy as part of the ENJOY project.

The National Ageing Research Institute, in conjunction with council, will evaluate the effects of physical activity on mental and physical health of residents who use the equipment.

The project will recruit older residents to take part in the trial and an open day in August will offer further information about the trial and how to use the equipment.

To find out more and to register your interest contact the Positive Ageing Team on 9407 5913.