AUGUST 2023
Australia’s National Local Government Newspaper
Art arrives The Shire of Murray celebrated the installation of the Bindjareb Maar artwork at the Pinjarra Town Square recently.
Celebrating the installation of the Bindjareb Maar art installation in the Pinjarra Town Square. The Bindjareb Maar was created through a collaborative process involving local people and contains imagery collected and created by the local community. The five interpretive poles tell stories of the past, present and future of our community.
The celebration included a smoking ceremony, and traditional dance by the Bindjareb Middars. The Bindjareb Maar – Maar means five – are five stunning interpretive poles containing imagery collected and created by the local community. They were created through a collaborative process involving local people and tell stories of the community’s past, present and future. Their installation is the realisation of a vision that emerged when the shire began its Murray Town Square and Foreshore Redevelopment project. It was identified at the time that there was a keenness to celebrate and showcase the rich culture of the local Nyungar people. Shire president, Cr David Bolt said it was satisfying to see this project come to fruition. “Sharing histories and cultures through art engages and inspires. It also strengthens relationships and aids reconciliation so, for many reasons, it is a great pleasure to see theBindjareb Maar in place,” Cr Bolt said.
Planning rethink State governments must urgently overhaul their approach to land use planning to ensure no more homes are built without regard to risk on flood plains, according to a round table of organisations representing planners, builders and insurers held earlier this month. Local Government Association president Linda Scott stressed how important it was to future proof infrastructure at a local level. “Australia’s 537 councils play a vital role in building resilient communities, assisting in every corner of the nation to ensure our communities can better prepare for, respond to and recover from increasing natural disasters,” she said. “It’s crucial we rebuild damaged local infrastructure to a more resilient standard. Councils will continue to strongly advocate for ‘building back better’ to be a core value and overriding principle of joint state/federal Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. “On behalf of local governments, I look forward to attending the Planning Ministers’ meeting.”
In response to the flood emergency of recent years, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), Master Builders Australia (MBA) and the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), supported by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), convened the inaugural National Industry Roundtable: Land Use Planning and Resilience. Planning Institute of Australia CEO Matt Collins said planning was a key factor in mitigating disaster impact. “Planning is a critical tool for influencing the level of future disaster risk, and our changing climate means we need to act now to limit the impact of extreme weather on our communities,” he said. “By adopting new risk-based policies and investing in better mapping and data, we can en-
sure development avoids or minimises exposure to flood hazards. “Australia’s town planners support governments taking clear action to ensure more climate-conscious planning systems, and this roundtable is an important step towards this goal.” Around 60 experts from government, financial services, property, and community joined the discussion, which called on state and territory governments when thinking about future housing challenges, to urgently rethink planning rules so no more homes are built in high-risk floodprone locations. A communique from the three sponsoring organisations outlining recommendations for reform has been released and will be sent to planning ministers, who also met today
to discuss this issue. The roundtable heard that all Australians are bearing the costs of worsening extreme weather events, and these costs are increasing because of historic planning decisions. Attendees agreed that without reform, population pressures and inadequate planning laws will see further development of flood-prone land putting lives at risk, costing taxpayers billions of dollars in recovery and remediation, and adding to an already strained insurance sector. “The flood events of 2022, with almost 300,000 disaster-related claims costing around $7 billion, has driven up premiums and has resulted in affordability constraints for those at highest risk,” Insurance Council of Australia CEO Andrew Hall said. Continued page 2
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