Media Releases

National Tree Day Sprouts Again At Kilcunda

Thanks to a grant from Coastcare Victoria, Three Creeks Landcare Group, Bass Coast Landcare Network and Bass Coast Shire Council are once again undertaking a revegetation program on the Kilcunda Foreshore.

The planting activity will coincide with National Tree Day on Sunday, 27 July at 10.00am.

This partnership has been running for four years now and has been responsible for the planting of 6,500 indigenous plants.

Taking the light road to a cooler future

Pale surfaces may pave the way to a cooler future for our cities, with a new City of Sydney trial exploring the potential for light-coloured pavement to reduce temperatures in surrounding areas.

The ‘urban heat island effect’ means cities are often a few degrees warmer than regional areas due to surfaces such as roads, footpaths and buildings absorbing heat from the sun. Lighter-coloured pavements may be one solution to reduce this effect.

The trial will record temperatures across different locations in Chippendale, including a 600-square-metre section of Myrtle Street. Over coming months, monitoring equipment will determine whether or not there is a reduction in ambient temperate along the paler pavement.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said temperatures in Sydney were expected to rise in coming decades due to the city’s growth and the effects of climate change.

Big thankyou for helping redesign Liebig St

About 600 Warrnambool community members have contributed to the process of redesigning Liebig Street, between Raglan Parade and Koroit Street.

Warrnambool City Council Manager City Centre Renewal Tanya Egan said the launch of the Liebig Streetscape Plan, community workshops, a survey through The Standard, Ace Radio support, a trader function and the chance to comment via www.yoursaywarrnambool.com.au had allowed a diverse section of the community to become involved in reshaping Liebig Street.

“The renewal of the city centre is the Council’s number one priority and the redesign of Liebig Street between Koroit St and Raglan Parade is a key component of the renewal,” Ms Egan said.

“So to have a large number of people contributing to and supporting the project was fantastic.”

 
The news that the Federal government plans to freeze indexation to the Federal Assistance Grants (FAGs) program was unwelcome news at Greater Taree City Council.
 
It is proposed that Government will achieve savings of $925.2 million over four years by freezing FAGs indexation for three years commencing 1 July 2014. In the preparation of its 2014-15 budget and long-term financial plan, Council was conservative in estimating the FAGs indexation component, capping it 2%.
 
As many budgeted for an indexation much higher, this places Council in a better position than most in terms of realising the gap. However, it still represents a direct impact over the three-year period of $450,000 at a minimum. If indexation is reintroduced in 2017-18, the lost income opportunity in those three years creates a gap that will compound year after year.