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For Your Information
National Child Protection week
NAPCAN firmly believes that a critical factor in breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect is positive behavioural change at the individual level -all Australians accepting their personal responsibility to be positive role models for children.
Tree Planting Project to fight urban salinity
Junee Shire Council, in conjunction with the Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority, is embarking on an exciting new project targeting Urban Salinity. Our community will become a healthier and greener community if all those invited get involved with this project. With your help we aim to target 60 hectares to plant out to native trees and shrubs in an effort to fight the effects of urban salinity.
This Council project is targeting land zoned as 1(c) which is Rural Small Holdings eg Tarthra Drive Estate, Kinvara Drive Estate. To be involved you will need to have land zoned 1(c) and be prepared to commit to the planting maintenance of a minimum of 100 trees. Council will provide the trees you select from a list and will prepare the land for you.
The planting events will coincide with Planet Arks National Tree Day on Sunday 27 July 2008. If your land is zoned as 1(c) you will receive a letter in the mail asking for your participation in the project. But you have to act fast as the deadline for RSVP is 27th JUNE 2008.
Fines - Information and Payment
People in financial difficulties are now able to pay off penalty notices, without attracting enforcement costs. You can make part payments as low as $20 towards a fine, provided the full payment is made by the due date on the penalty reminder notice.
The State Debt Recovery Office (SDRO) offers clients the ability to pay fines using credit cards or BPAY via their website, www.sdro.nsw.gov.au.
An Unlicensed builder Could Cost You Your Home...
By hiring an Unlicensed Builder or Contractor without Workman's Comp/General Liability Insurance, YOU, as the homeowner, are Liable for any accident or injury on the job!
There is no direct legal recourse against an Unlicensed Builder or Contractor for a Bad Job!
Hiring a licensed professional insures training, credibility, and your satisfaction and peace of mind for a job well done!
 Well why not use a unlicensed contractor? One thing is that that contractor is not working legally and he/she is not paying tax's or insurance. By not using a Licensed contractor you open all builders up to your lost - how? How about if the unlicensed employee falls off your roof well now we all have to pay his worker compensation? Now with the laws it keeps Bud from coming down here working a month or so and going back north never to be heard from again. You think that cheap price in a month or so would not be so good. Well consider the ones who want work done on their home or office correctly. They will find themselves paying more because of that cost due to incorrect workmanship and having to hire another contractor to fix or replacement the bad work or not in compliance with the code that the cheaper contractor failed to comply. After all would you let a car salesman work on your car? No! So why not hire a licensed contractor? It truly pays in the long run.
Entering an agreement with an unlicensed contractor limits Fair Trading’s authority to assist you if something goes wrong, and could cost you a lot of money.
Only deal with a builder or tradesperson who is licensed with the Office of Fair Trading.
Before you sign anything from a builder or tradesperson:
- Ask them for a copy of their licence card
- Go to www.fairtrading nsw.gov.au or call 13 32 20 and make sure the contractor is licensed for the work you want done.
- Anyone doing residential building work over $1,000 in value or specialist work must have a licence.
Women to Gather in Junee in 2009
The Women’s Gathering, held in Hay in November last year, was so enjoyable it inspired some local women to bid for Junee to host the event in 2009. The bid was successful and since January a committed group of Junee Shire women have been meeting monthly to set the event in motion.
T he date for the big event, expected to bring more than 300 women to town, has been set for Friday to Sunday 18, 19, and 20 September 2009.
Junee Shire Council Community Development Officer Nikki Condon attended the event in Hay last year, along with Carol Windsor, Norma Higginson and Patrya Cook, on a fact finding missionto assess the viability of hosting the event in our community.
Nikki said ‘It was a great weekend of fun and laughter, with some learning along the way. The Hay community welcomed the women attending by putting on a great event and even providing incentives to shop and visit the tourist attractions.
The women volunteering on the committee believe Junee will be a great host of this event, with a little hard work but a lot of pay off. If any other women would like to come together to join the committee they are more than welcome. The committee is quietly bubbling along at the moment but expects to get a little busier after this years event being held in Coonamble 17-19 October 2008. Many on the committee are hoping to attend, for the fun, but also to experience the weekend first hand before we host it here. Any women of Junee, town or rural community, is welcome to attend Coonamble, and perhaps if enough are going we could car pool, but maybe consider running a bus to the event.
The Rural Women's Network is the lead organisation of the event with major sponsorship by the NSW Department of Primary Industries but it will also be a fabulous opportunity for local sponsorship too.
If your group or business would like to lend its support to our endeavour to host this event in Junee in September 2009, please contact Nikki Condon at Junee Shire Council for more details. If you would like to be a part of the committee, meetings are held on the fourth Monday of the month at the Council office at 5:30pm. The next meeting is scheduled for 23 June 2008. Or feel free to check out minutes and get updates online from the special Women’s Gathering page.
Carole Windsor and her mother Norma Higginson enjoyed their first experience at a Women’s
Gathering, in Hay 2-4 November last year, and are full of ideas to help make a successful event in Junee in 2009.
Council Adopts Management Plan 2008 – 2011
In accordance with the provisions of Section 402 of the Local Government Act 1993, Council at its Meeting held on Tuesday 24 June 2008 adopted a Management Plan covering Council’s activities for the next three year period 2008/09 to 2010/11. The Management Plan has been prepared to assist in focusing the operations of Council towards fulfilling the expectations of the community as far as possible, given the financial capabilities of the community to support Council’s operations.
The Plan sets out Council’s activities for the next three year period and includes the following:
- A rating structure for the year 2008/09 to be effective as from July 1 2007.
- A listing of all fees and charges to be charged by Council for the 2008/09 year.
- A statement of the Budget for the next 3 financial years.
2008 Local Government Elections
Local council elections 2008 | Saturday 13 September
Your vote is your voice in your local area. Be heard.
Candidate seminars are to be conducted by the New South Wales Electoral commission (NSWEC) during May and June 2008. They will cover key topics that prospective candidates need to have an understanding of prior to nominating for council. For information visit www.elections.nsw.gov.au.
Existing councillors who plan to re-contest the election should be encouraged to attend a candidate information seminar as there may be changes in legislative requirements and operational procedures from the last 2004 Local Government elections.
Members of the Publis can register their interest in being considered for employment as an election official. The link will be attached to the NSWEC’s website www.elections.nsw.gov.au commencing from the first week in June.
Helping Hands - a grants program to assist small rural communities
The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) is pleased to launch a new grants program called HELPING HANDS - A Grants Program to Assist Small Rural Communities. Helping Hands will offer grants of up $50,000 to benefit people in rural and remote Australia.
What can be funded?
- Not-for-profit Organisations can apply for projects and activities that offer clear public benefit for communities living in small rural and remote locations in Australia, contributing to their development in social and community welfare, economic, environmental, health, education or cultural areas.
- Applications from communities with a population of 10,000 or less will receive preference.
- Grants will be made in amounts up to $50,000.
- Multi-year funding applications will be considered.
- To be eligible, projects must be for a charitable purpose (benefit the whole community).
- Organisations should also have an ABN.
- Organisations demonstrating Community Partnerships will be preferred to multiple applications from one community
Preference will be given to projects that support:
Community Infrastructure
Capacity Building
Health or Community Services
Access to Education or Training
Innovative Business Ventures
Environment
How to Apply
Application can be made to FRRR by post only.
Applications Close:
- 1 May 2008
- 6 August 2008
- 27 October 2008
Grant seeker enquiries can be made on free call 1800 170 020 or e-mail: info@frrr.org.au
Other Grants Currently Available:
Small Grants for Small Rural Communities – grants of up to $5,000
ANZ Seeds of Renewal – grants of up to $10,000
Caring for Ageing in Rural Australia – grants of up to $10,000
A range of other grants programs are available for specific states. If you would like to receive electronic updates on grant rounds please email info@frrr.org.au with your details. If you have any queries, please contact me on (03) 5430 2304
If you own something that you don’t need anymore, don’t throw it away, give it away to someone who wants it. Use the Yours to Take website to advertise the item and link with someone else that wants it.
It’s simple and it’s free.
How does it work?
Almost every service on this site requires a user account.
You can either advertise an item that you are willing to give away for 60 days free of charge. Or you can browse through the various items that have been published here to acquire something that another person is willing to give away
At no time is there money involved in the transaction. You can't ask for money for the advertised item and you shouldn't pay anything when you acquire an item. The transport of an advertised item is to be arranged between the two parties to the transaction.
Want to know more, click here to read on.
Recycle your mobile phone and help kidney health australia
 We are offering you the opportunity of recycling your used mobile phones.
A large box will be located at Junee Shire Council offices in Belmore Street to accept your donation. Mobile batteries will be accepted however recharges are not required. Your mobile phone will benefit Kidney Health Australia as a recovery fee is paid by the recycler. So dig deep into your drawers and cupboards and bring them in to deposit. Kidney Health Australia (formerly The Australian Kidney Foundation) is a national non profit organisation promoting kidney and urinary tract health through research, consumer participation, education and health service.
Visit www.kidney.org.au to see how you can help
Combating Urban Salinity and Rising Water Table
Junee Shire Council has embarked on a program of attempting to minimise the effects of urban salinity.
The new strategies adopted include:
- New methods of road construction, including reconstructing an important urban street, Broadway
- Minimising stormwater ingress by concrete ‘V-draining’ major stormwater channels in town
- Kerb and gutter installation and repair
- Building Code amendments to reduce the affects that rising water table and salinity have on buildings
- Introduction of major tree-planting programs in town and throughout the Shire.
Individual households throughout the town can be major contributors to urban salinity. Household practices that can make salinity worse include:
- Roof water being directed onto the ground and not into Council’s drainage system
- Roof water directed to backyard rubble pits, causing seepage into the ground water and often nuisance flooding in backyards, including neighbours
- Leaking water pipes and sewer pipes
- Over-watering of lawns and gardens
The Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority is providing funding to Junee Shire Council to help us identify rubble pits and ill-conceived stormwater systems on individual properties throughout the town. Council’s Salinity Action Plan has identified that the removal of these systems will see a marked reduction in recharge to our already high water table.
Council is conducting a study to determine areas of the town where stormwater disposal to ourkerb and gutter system hasn’t been possible and therefore rubble drains and other ineffective systems would be likely. These areas will be targeted by the project to possibly install pumping equipment and remove existing rubble drains, etc, all at no cost to the landowner.
We would like your assistance in identifying these problem areas on your property by informing us in one of the following ways:
- Contacting Council by telephone, providing basic details (such as name, address and the nature of the problem) so that a Council officer can contact you and determine how the problem can be fixed; or
- Complete a form that is available from Council’s offices; or
- Complete our web-based form.
Once the information is collected, Council officers will attempt to talk to each of the property owners and endeavour to find a solution to the problem. Solutions could include down-pipes being connected to the street kerb and gutter system or, alternatively, an inter-allotment drainage system that takes the water through to the lower streets.
Benefits for the householders revolve around the fact that the water table will not be allowed to rise to the height that it is at present. This will have long term benefits for householders with regard to house foundations and minimising the effect of salinity on paintwork and rendering work which is a common occurrence around Junee. Flooding of backyards would also be eliminated as would nuisance flooding to neighbouring properties.
Your help is sought to assist Council in determining how big the problem actually is. So, if you think that you have a problem, please do not hesitate to contact Council with your details so it can follow up with an appropriate solution.
Read the Salinity Presentation for a more comprehensive look at Junee’s salinity problem.
Satisfaction With Council Performance
Junee residents proved their confidence in Council according to survey results recorded recently by IRIS Research to monitor residents’ satisfaction with Council’s performance. A total of 330 completed interviews were collected from a random sample of residents from throughout Junee Shire Council area.
The level of satisfaction amongst the community with Council’s performance is impressive. Seventy six percent indicated Council’s performance was high, 21% suggested it was medium and 3% provided a low rating.
After asking respondents to rate the importance and satisfaction with 12 service/facilities provided by Council, analysis using an opportunity matrix revealed the following service priorities for Council:
- Construction & maintenance of local roads, footpaths and kerbing
- Waste management
- Health and human services including aged, child and youth services
- Environmental activities including stormwater and land care
This list was arrived at by comparing residents’ stated importance of services provided by Council against their satisfaction with the provision of the services. The above services are those that rated as high importance but low satisfaction.
Around 2 in 3 residents agree user pay charges should be levied on players using sports fields with the average charge of $2.40 per player being determined.
Key results:
- Overall around 63% of residents indicated the rates they paid to Council were good value for the range of services and facilities they received. Although high evaluations were reported by both the Junee Township and surrounding rural areas, it was seen that Junee township residents rated a higher value.
- Compared to the rural component of the LGI benchmark study, Junee residents have a significantly higher perception of value for Council’s service versus the benchmark.
- The 65+ age group rated the value significantly higher than other age groups.
- No other significant differences were found against the remaining demographic variables.
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