Ian Scott, a Community Account Manager with NBN Co will address the meeting to outline the NBN Co plans for wireless internet in the outlying areas of Bellingen Shire. Possible tower locations will be a hot item of discussion. Ian is happy to answer all your questions about this important initiative.

The actual township of Bellingen is slated for Fibre at some point in the future (timing not yet announced) , and the fixed wireless is for areas surrounding Bellingen. You will only get access to a single delivery method so if you are getting fibre at some stage, you will not connect to fixed wireless.

Therefore the audience for the fixed wireless is not premises in the actual township of Bellingen,

The audience for fixed wireless is very much the properties at Gleniffer, Fernmount, Brierfield, Kalang and Thora.

Read the NBN Co Fixed Wireless Fact sheet

Read today’s press release announcing areas

Bellingen Energy Festival 2011

Firstly I would like to Acknowledge the Gumbaynggir people who are the traditional owners of this land. I would also like to pay my respects to the elders past and present of the Gumbaynggir nation. And extend that respect to other aboriginal people present

My focus this morning is around “Bello switched on to switching off” and particularly the programs and processes that council has in place or is contemplating around sustainability and within that energy.

But Firstly I would like to share that in preparing for today I took some time to understand the breadth of the Energy Festival the activities that you can participate in and the speakers that Paul has arranged and I have to say the diversity and line up around the notion of sustainability is amazing.

On that, for me there are lots of definitions and words that are used in relation to sustainability and these have changed and become more sophisticated as we have become better at it.

The words that provide descriptors around the notion of sustainability for me include balance, leadership, integration, partnership and resilience, as well as behavior and cultural change with some of the key issues being

· Thinking and working outside the walls – by that I mean expanding our sphere of influence and seeing both responsibility and opportunity in the communities that we work with and within

· Setting big goals that can be delivered upon by interesting and innovative partnerships

· Look for the best ideas everywhere – seek to deliver synergistic outcomes

· Supporting individual leadership and innovation – especially from our young people

And some of the key common local and indeed international issues around sustainability being globalization, the digital divide, health and wellbeing, food security, growth and development, peak oil, our changing climate, threats to our biodiversity, fresh water, and so the list goes on.

So putting those words and notions out there I’ll start by talking about the processes and programs currently underway for Bellingen , followed by those that are planned and then put them in a context for moving forward

In terms of community interest the groups programs and events around sustainability particularly in a community the size of Bellingen is amazing and over the past few months I have met community(s) that are interested, committed and connected, that value the natural attributes of our shire and the importance of our local environment. There is a real spirit and thinking that we want to embrace sustainable practices and a way of life.

For me this is anecdotally evidenced in a range of ways such as community intelligence, the number of community groups, as well as their diversity, the growth of the Energy Festival and our communities take up of solar

In terms of council, there has been significant investment over the last few years around staffing and programs and a lot of great initiatives are underway. By way of example

· For the past couple of years Council has employed a sustainability officer whose role is clearly focused around local sustainability initiatives. This work is supported internally through a Sustainability Team and whilst we lost Nik earlier this year and miss him a lot we are in the process of recruiting a new sustainability champion for our organization.

· The types of programs that we plan to both put in place and continue include

o Community education and engagement programs.

o Supporting our internal sustainability team to ensure our practices and programs are sustainable because it is important that we deliver upon our targets too.

o The Sustainability and natural resources newsletter

o Localising the ride to work day

o Continuing energy and water retrofits which aim to reduce consumption and our ecological footprint as well as reduce the costs to council and its community

o Monitoring the environmental benefit of changes to our fleet

o Managing the Revolving energy fund, which has been established to capture understanding and savings in terms of the initiatives that we put in place

o Running environment and sustainability workshops for our community

o Linking and partnering with the strong and focused environment and sustainability groups within our community

o Working with other councils on joint sustainability initiatives

o Data collection around our energy efficient projects

· Council is conducting a range of waterway management initiatives including estuary mapping, river health plans, river action plans. We have delivered the EcoHealth report card which provides an ecological assessment of the health of our rivers and applied for grant funding to implement a range of programs designed to improve the health of our rivers.

· We are rolling out a range of programs each year as part of Council’s environmental levy program.

· We partner with Coffs and Nambucca Councils around Our Living Coast, which is delivering a whole range of important outcomes such as a Sustainability Road Map, action learning and training for council staff around sustainability, a Sustainable Home Program and a range of on ground works.

· We have a strong focus on weed management and have Memorandums of Understanding with Landcare as well as supporting them financially.

· We also have developed a climate change adaptation plan and are developing inundation mapping. The adaptation process consists of measures taken to limit the impact of the level of climate change that cannot be avoided, such as increasing sea defences to resist sea level rise and creating biodiversity corridors to allow flora and fauna to migrate as the climate changes.

· In terms of mitigation, Council has adopted the BERP – the Bellingen Emissions Reduction Plan, which includes an emissions reduction target of 40% and a community target of one living planet.

Our initiatives in response to these adopted targets have been diverse.

· As our Mayor Mark has said Council has resolved to upgrade our street lighting. This involves replacing street lights with more efficient lighting technology and providing equivalent light using significantly less energy. This efficiency upgrade will contribute around 10% of the total reduction required to meet Council’s emission reduction target.

· A range of other actions have also been taken, such as the installation of solar on the roof of the library and the museum and since June have produced in excess of 2100 kw of energy going back to the grid.

· Our operational staff participated in sustainability workshops in 2010 as part of a program we run with Coffs Council called ‘Our living coast’ and as a result took the initiative of landscaping a number of roundabouts and roadside verges across the shire with the objective of improving our amenity, and reducing mowing and brushcutting. This will see a reduction of fuel use and carbon emissions as well as maintenance cost ($15 000)

· We are embracing green building practices with the design for the William street youth centre which is progressing nicely. incorporating sustainability features

· Some of our professional staff work practices have changed and we seek to understand and capture our savings through a revolving energy fund which will in the long term allow further investment in energy saving and other sustainability initiatives

And a key focus for the coming months will be the development of an Implementation plan to support the Bellingen Emission Reduction Plan.

When Council adopted its target of 40% emission reduction, which is ambitious by any measure it also adopted a community target of one earth living by 2015 as measured using the ecological footprint assessment.

· This year Council conducted a survey to provide an estimate of Bellingen Shire’s baseline ecological footprint in order to measure future changes in carbon emissions.

· This will assist Council to support the community target and establishes some benchmarks for future assessment.

· In terms of process Four hundred members of the Bellingen Shire community were surveyed to ensure that the survey was statistically significant (200 from Bellingen and surrounds, 100 from Urunga and 100 from Dorrigo).

· According to the survey results the median Bellingen Shire resident uses 6.9 global hectares of the Earth’s productive areas to support them. These figures were calculated using the Global Footprint Networks Website Calculator which was recommended by Ozgreen and you heard earlier from Sue Lennox from Ozgreen.

· This is based on a model used to estimate the ecological foot print of a person based on their current lifestyle habits. This means that if every person on earth had the same ecological foot print as the median Bellingen Shire resident, a total of 3.8 planet earths will be required to provide enough resources

· To put this into context the average Australian’s Ecological Footprint in the Living Planet Report 2008 was 7.8 global hectares (gha) per person.

In terms of some of the specific benchmarks from the Ecological Footprint Assessment:

1 23 per cent of our respondents used 20 per cent or more of their energy from renewable sources

2 27 per cent of respondents either had solar panels installed or had them on order

3 34 per cent of our households had solar hot water installed or on order

4 The average spend of electricity is $347

5 62 per cent of respondents indicated that they limit their use of air conditioning to a few very hot days

6 13 per cent of respondents use a wood heater or fireplace less than thirty days per year

7 59 per cent of respondents indicate that three quarters or more of their diet is based on fresh unpackaged foods.

8 29 per cent of respondents indicate that three quarters of their diet is based on locally grown or produced foods.

9 46 per cent of respondents indicate that their red bin is half full or less in a normal fortnight

10 38 per cent of respondents indicate that they walk or cycle occasionally

11 66 per cent of our respondents indicate that the travel 200km or less by car in an average week

12 51 per cent of respondents indicate that they are almost always driving with someone else

13 7 per cent of respondents indicate that they use public transport.

· Council recently considered the survey results and now Council staff will reconvene with our community (and those present at the 2009 workshop) to determine a plan of action towards undertaking activities which can assist with reducing the footprint.

· Also the survey results will provide some direction for both Council and our community to focus sustainability education and awareness activities as opportunities arise.

· The survey results will be available on Council’s Website and the Our Living Coast Website. It will also be made available to those groups who are focussed on increasing community sustainability such as Transition Bellingen and EcoBello.

In terms of moving forward

· The emission reduction targets that have been adopted by Council for both its own operations and for our community are aspirational and ambitious.

· The establishment of the targets was based on solid consultation processes with both Council and the broader community.

· However in the context of a changing world that is increasingly challenged by other sustainability dimensions our Council and community needs to be focused

· This will involve understanding what programs processes partnerships and alliances we have in place now and what else we need

· Within that, these adopted targets will be reflected in the plans currently being prepared by Council and its staff as part of the Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework.

· Briefly this new framework recognises that communities do not exist in isolation – and that council plans do not exist in isolation either.

· The new framework is about having important discussions about funding priorities, service levels and preserving our local identity as well as planning in partnership for a more sustainable future.

· The framework consist of

· A community engagement strategy – an agreed plan for talking with our community

· Community Strategic Plan – a vision for the shire for the next 20 years.

· A resourcing strategy which looks at the resources we need to deliver upon the Council and community aspirations articulated in the community strategic plan

· Delivery Program (a four year plan) and an operational plan or one year plan. Which will draw together and seek to deliver the community vision.

In terms of process and where we are right now – Council has conducted a range of workshops with both council and our community and the community strategic plan is in draft. We plan to talk again to our community about the plan over the coming months to seek your feedback before council formally adopts the plan.

For me the integrated reporting framework will reflect the aspirations of both Council and its community for Bellingen, it will properly articulate council’s role as custodian for our communities and will be built upon the principles of sustainability.

It will reflect the various adopted targets such as the 40% emissions reduction target and the community target of one earth living. It will provide an imperative for the integration of sustainability into the core business of council and let us collaboratively work towards future proofing Bellingen.

The process will provide the opportunity to put in place linkages to both community groups and our business community and provide a platform to collaboratively work on issues such as the digital divide, health and wellbeing, food security, growth and development, efficiency and effectiveness of Councils operations, peak oil, our changing climate, threats to our biodiversity, fresh water, and so on.

If we are smart we will collaboratively work to leverage outcomes around a leadership community, a sustainable Bellingen by harnessing the talent and intellect and investments that have already been made here or have the potential to be made

In the context of today’s Energy Festival, I want to close by saying that what is really important about our journey ahead is balance, leadership, integration, behavior and cultural change resilience and partnerships, which is where we started the conversation and which I think for Bellingen supports the notion of Bellingen switching on to switching off.

Good Afternoon,

Council would like to invite you or a representative of your organisation to join us in the celebration of Local Government Week.

Local Government Week (1-7 August 2011) aims to celebrate the positive services that councils provide that empower communities. Councils deliver a huge range of services and facilities. The things that make a community a ‘community’ often come from local council – libraries, leisure centres, sporting fields, youth and aged services, child care.

Our invitation is attached and we hope you can join us.  Local Govt Week Invitation

PS: Other interesting things happening in Bellingen for Local Government Week include:

· A display showcasing engagement initiatives at the Bellingen Library.

· An exhibition of past winners of the Bellingen and Dorrigo Arts Prize at the Bellingen Library.

· Picture It – a photography event to understand your view of the Shire in 2030, in pictures.

· The official “sod” turning of the new Youth Development Centre

· Experience the beautiful Bellinger River with Council’s River Keeper and understand the health of our precious waterways.

Liz Jeremy

General Manager

Bellingen Shire Council

(02) 6655 7315

PO Box 117

BELLINGEN NSW 2454

council@bellingen.nsw.gov.au

For full information on rates, valuations, water, waste and sewerage charges for business and residential see link below

pn2154221BSC proof2

Free Online Business Listing Service Media Release 1 Sep 2010

You can visit the new site here:

http://www.bellingenshirebusiness.icn.org.au/project_full_display.php?projectid=2429

Dear all,

I would encourage you all to come to one of the Visioning sessions being held by Council …

Council is beginning the process of developing a Community Strategic Plan for 2030 which will drive Council’s strategic direction over the next 20 years. As part of the development of this Plan, a series of Community Visioning Workshops are being held with the aim of identifying the community’s vision and aspirations for the future of our Shire. The workshops are being facilitated for Council by Transition Bellingen and the workshops will be held on the following dates:

· Bellingen Uniting Church Hall 11 September 1pm – 5.30pm  Workshop_Poster_FINAL

· Dorrigo CWA Hall 18 September 1pm – 5:30pm

· Urunga Golf Club 25 September 1pm – 5:30om

If you would like to attend one of the visioning workshops and have your say in the Shire’s future, please RSVP by email to Bellingen2030@bellingen.nsw.gov.au or call 6655 7315 with your name and the session you would like to attend.

Before coming to the workshop, consider what it is that you:

· Cherish about our Shire and want to sustain/maintain into the future?

· Want to Create as part of the Shire’s future?

· Want to Recover from the past?

· Want to Refuse to take into the future?

Regards

Ian Turnbull

Manager Sustainability & Natural Resources

Bellingen Shire Council

PO Box 117 (33-39 Hyde St)

Bellingen, NSW 2454.

t. 02 6655 7338

f. 02 6655 2310

m. 0429665018

e. iturnbull@bellingen.nsw.gov.au

w. www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au

To receive Council’s Sustainability and Natural Resource Management e-newsletter, send an email to sustainability@bellingen.nsw.gov.au with ‘Subscribe’ in the subject line.

Council rates notices will be in ratepayer’s letterboxes from this week with payment due by 31 August.

Council offers you a number of convenient ways to pay your rates including:

* online

* credit card by phone

* BPAY

* mail

* in person at council offices or at any Post Office

Pension Rebates for 2010/2011 Pensioners who have applied for a Pension rebate are requested to check their Rates Notice.

If you have received a pension rebate, it will appear in the Particulars of Rates and Charges Box to the right of the total Column.

The Pension Rebate has been included in the total column.

The total column is the amount to pay.

If you hold a Pension Card and have not applied for a Pension Rebate on your Rates, you may be eligible, so please contact Council.

Outstanding Rates and Charges – Financial Difficulty

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, please contact Council to set up a formal payment arrangement, as weekly, fortnightly or monthly pay arrangements can be made.

This article can be found on the web at:

http://bellingen.local-e.nsw.gov.au/news/pages/10229.html