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Wednesday 23 October 2024
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Financial crisis looms for shire Cameron McCullough cameron@mpnews.com.au
Ollie’s bottle drive captures hearts of his neighbourhood SEVEN-year-old Ollie of Hastings is inspiring his community with a remarkable initiative that has so far seen him raise $350 for the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal. Inspired by his little sister April, who was born prematurely at 31 weeks and received life-saving care at the hospital, Ollie wanted to find a way to give back to the incredible team that took care of his family during a difficult time. So, this month he decided to begin a can-collecting drive in his neighbourhood, encouraging his neighbours to gather empty bottles, cans, and containers with a 10c recycling mark. In just a few weeks Ollie has refunded a staggering 3500 bottles
and cans at the Hastings collection depot. He has so far raised $350 thanks to the generous support of his community on Carpenters Lane, Lefroy Lane, and Maurandra Close. His goal is to reach $500 by the end of October. “I just wanted to help the hospital because they took such good care of my sister and our family,” Ollie said. “It’s also fun to help the environment by recycling, and I’m really happy that everyone is joining in.” Ollie’s sister spent two weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit and another five weeks in special care after her early arrival. She required two blood transfusions, and the hospital’s exceptional care helped her, and her family,
through those critical weeks. The community has rallied behind Ollie’s fundraiser with his neighbours pitching in by collecting cans and bringing them to the bins set up at the end of his driveway. “His enthusiasm has been contagious, with many people sharing the story and rallying to help him achieve his ambitious goal,” Ollie’s mum Janelle Thompson said. “His journey is a reminder of how even the youngest among us can make a big impact, one can at a time.” The Good Friday Appeal has partnered with the Container Deposit Scheme as its first statewide donation partner – with every 10 cents refunded being donated to the Good Friday Appeal.
COME AND SEE THE CHICKENS ROAMING FREE IN THE PADDOCK!
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council is moving towards a “precarious financial position” over the next five years with a “perfect storm” of rate capping, reduced federal government grants, and state government cost shifting “jeopardizing both the provision of essential services and the financial sustainability of local government”. The claims by the shire have been made at two recent inquiries into local government funding and sustainability at the state and federal level. Of greatest concern to the shire is state government cost-shifting which it estimates to balloon to $234m over the next five years. The shire’s submission to the Victorian inquiry noted the “unprecedented number of state government responsibilities... ultimately being shifted onto ratepayers”, and the added burden of state or federal legislation or programs that mandate local government participation, without sufficient funding to cover the cost. State government responsibilities shifted to the shire include foreshore management (which is estimated to cost the shire $11.7m annually), libraries, kindergartens, road maintenance and verge clearing, among others. Legislative changes likely to impact the shire’s revenue include the newly passed Short Stay Levy Bill 2024, and new waste laws introducing a standardised four bin waste system across the state set to cost the shire tens of millions
of dollars to implement (New bin laws prompt concerns of waste charge spike, The News 1/10/24). On the other hand, federal legislative changes such as the opening of aged-care services to the private sector saw the shire exiting those services, at a cost saving of between $4.5 to $5m per annum. Also of concern for the shire is the state government’s rate-capping regime which sets a capped rate “significantly lower than inflation”. The shire notes that “expenses have surged significantly beyond the Consumer Price Index. This is primarily attributed to a limited supplier pool and the escalated costs of infrastructure delivery”. Shire CEO John Baker, appearing at the federal government’s “Inquiry into local government sustainability” on 26 September stated that rate capping started “at a point when we were one of the lowest rating councils in the country” and that “every time there’s a 1.75 per cent (rise), that’s 1.75 per cent on where we were”. The shire believes the current model for calculating rates, which places the shire in a pool of other metropolitan municipalities, does not consider the high percentage of Green Wedge land on the peninsula, and the cost burden of eight million visitors to the area. “When you’re accommodating eight million visitors a year in a population of 170,000 the impact on infrastructure, on our roads and on the cleaning of beaches is absolutely enormous,” said Baker. Continued Page 8
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