Council at a glance
October 2018 | Sharon Webb
Council in bid for new prison
Meander Valley Council will express interest to the State Government in the municipality being the site of a new northern prison on the site of Ashley Detention Centre. The government recently invited northern Tasmanian landowners, including northern Tasmanian councils, utility companies, the property sector and economic development groups, to make submissions. The Minister for Corrections, Elise Archer, said the government is committed to building a new prison in northern Tasmania, at an estimated cost of $270 million to house approximately 270 prisoners.
Council acts on power failures
Meander Valley Council will write to TasNetworks reiterating the importance of uninterrupted secure electricity supply to Westbury and the Valley Central Industrial zone. Following a front page story in the Meander Valley Gazette on frequent Westbury power failures, Cllr Bob Richardson requested the promised TasNetworks upgrade be fast-tracked.
Netball players get new courts this year
Meander Valley Council approved construction of two new outdoor netball courts in Deloraine at its September meeting and will manage their construction. The plexiplave courts will be built on crown land behind the main Deloraine Community Complex building, paid for by $129,000 in grants obtained by Deloraine Devils netball club and a $100,000 election commitment by the State Liberal Party.
Council says cancer-causing weed killer optional
The general manager of Meander Valley Council, Martin Gill, says there are options to council’s use of Roundup, the weed-killer containing the probable carcinogen, glyphosate. In a reply to Cllr Bob Richardson, he said alternative weed control methods are available and that the council would continue to advertise and promote its No Spray Register.
Plea for churches to stay open
Meander Valley Council will request three church properties be exempt from sale in a submission to the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania. Councillors believe that St Andrews Church, Carrick; St Andrews Church, Westbury; and St Marys Church, rectory and cemetery in Hagley are working parishes with close ties to the local community and are an integral part of local and Tasmanian history.
Protest on Westbury health worker axing by council
Cllr Bob Richardson maintains the 2016 Federal Liberal axing of three health worker positions in the Meander Valley may have resulted in increased suicide rates and increased adolescent behaviour problems. Council will make a submission to the Senate committee on regional mental health services on the issue.
