Wednesday 21 November 2007

Australia. Riverbank restoration program funds community projects

as posted on BYM

The State Government has injected nearly $1million into local projects to improve the health of the Swan and Canning rivers.

A total of 14 projects were funded under the Swan River Trust’s Riverbank program for 2007-08.

Environment Minister David Templeman said the program enabled local and State government land managers to receive funding from the State Government to undertake river restoration works.

“Riverbank funding is provided for a wide range of foreshore restoration and protection activities that enhance and manage native vegetation, improve degraded areas, mitigate erosion and address public amenity values and safety.” he said. “Healthy foreshores are essential for maintaining the health of rivers and these 14 projects will prove invaluable to the foreshores, health of the waterways and visual appearance of the area. Through weed control, planting, landscape planning and erosion control, we can preserve our riverbanks and rivers for generations to come.”

The Minister said that the projects could only achieve positive results if local and State governments and environmental community groups worked together. “By uniting in our efforts, we are ensuring the future of our riverine environment.” he said “Since the inception of Riverbank in 2002, the program has grown in popularity, with the largest funding requests received this year. We are continuing to look at ways to fund high-quality projects that missed out in this round. The health of the rivers is a priority and we must all act now to protect the future of the rivers. The Carpenter Government is leading the way in preparing Western Australia to meet the challenges of our changing climate.”

Since 2002, the State Government has committed more than $4.25million to 110 Riverbank projects.

Riverbank projects for 2007-08 include:

$58,000 for phase two of the City of Bayswater Tranby foreshore restoration project in Maylands. Last year, Riverbank provided $73,064 for phase one of the project. Phase two works include erosion control, weed removal and planting of native vegetation;

$3,850 to the City of Gosnells for phase three for control of Taro on the Canning River and tributaries. This project was funded $31,500 under the Riverbank program two years ago and received $9,400 last year. The project is working to eradicate Taro which is a serious weed growing along the Canning River that has been displacing native plant species. The project steering committee comprises representatives from the Cities of Armadale, Canning and Gosnells, South East Regional Centre of Urban Landcare and the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC);

$23,375 to the City of Canning for an Eco education demonstration site. The project includes the rehabilitation of a section of the Canning River, weed control and planting of native vegetation. Project partners include the South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare, DEC, Canning Regional Park Volunteers, Wilson Wetland Action Group and Two Rivers Catchment Group;

$149,571 to the City of Swan for foreshore rehabilitation as part of the Swan Riverside Regional Park project in Viveash. The project includes extensive foreshore bank stabilisation rehabilitation works, weed control and revegetation. This project has received almost $45,000 in the past two years;

$97,168 for the Ashfield Parade foreshore restoration project in the Town of Bassendean. The funds will be directed towards stabilisation works, formalising access points and pathways, weed control and establishment of local native foreshore vegetation. The project received $325,153 last year;

$84,636 for the City of South Perth’s Cloister foreshore erosion control program, which will include erosion control works and restoration to foreshore vegetation near the Edgewater Road footbridge overpass in Salter Point;

$23,900 to the City of Gosnells who has identified three sub-projects along the Canning River which need weeds removed and native plants restored. Riverbank is providing funding to the projects undertaken in partnership with the Armadale Gosnells Landcare Group and a number of local community groups;

$15,175 allocated to three sub-projects along the Canning River in the City of Armadale. The sites in Roleystone and Kelmscott need weeds removed and native vegetation planted. The Armadale Gosnells Landcare Group and a number of local community groups, including the Friends of Roley Pools, will help to restore the areas;

$510,000 to the City of South Perth for the creation of Sir James Mitchell Park beach on the South Perth foreshore. Funds will be provided to start works on developing a beach, including the replacement of eroding foreshores and nodes of local native vegetation; and

$14,360 allocated to foreshore rehabilitation works at Masons Landing in the Canning River Regional Park. DEC will manage weed control and planting of native vegetation along the foreshore. The project will be undertaken in partnership with the South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare and the Two Rivers Catchment Group.

as posted on BYM

Power upgrades begin to show results

as posted on Media-Newswire.com

Major infrastructure upgrades in Armadale, Gosnells and Byford have significantly improved power supply reliability in the area, Energy Minister Francis Logan said today. New figures released by Western Power indicate that power outages, especially those caused by equipment failure, had dramatically reduced since April this year.

(Media-Newswire.com) - Major infrastructure upgrades in Armadale, Gosnells and Byford have significantly improved power supply reliability in the area, Energy Minister Francis Logan said today.

New figures released by Western Power indicate that power outages, especially those caused by equipment failure, had dramatically reduced since April this year.

Mr Logan said significant upgrades had occurred in the region between December last year and April this year. These included: upgrades to the Byford network which involved extending a new feeder line from the substation to the Armadale shopping centre, reinforcing and reconfiguring major overhead power lines in the northern half of the network and some extensive underground cable installations; constructing and commissioning a new $10 million zone substation at Southern River; and completion of the first stage of a comprehensive $2.9 million upgrade of the Gosnells distribution network. This involved upgrading 15km of overhead conductors, installing 25km of underground cable and installing new automatic reclosers.

The Minister said this work had helped to improve power reliability by reducing equipment failure faults and, as a result of shortened feeders, reducing the number of customers impacted by faults.

"Faults caused by equipment failure have been a major cause of outages in the region for a long time," he said.

"Western Power recognised this and millions of dollars have been allocated to upgrade and improve this equipment - and the results appear to have been instantaneous.

"More work is still being undertaken and more work is planned.

"Power interruptions from vegetation or debris contacting lines or from car accidents knocking down poles are always a risk for overhead networks, but this work will certainly reduce the number of outages."

Mr Logan today visited the Byford substation where $3.77million is being spent on a new transformer and two additional powerlines to Armadale and Gosnells.

Armadale MLA Alannah MacTiernan welcomed the upgrades, saying reliability of power supplies had been a major problem in the South East Corridor for decades.

"This investment is bringing big improvements for local businesses and for residents," Ms MacTiernan said.

Western Power managing director Doug Aberle said the improvements represented a significant investment in the reliability of supply for customers.

"The improvement we have made here in Byford represents a significant reinforcement of the network and will improve reliability for our customers in Armadale and Gosnells," Mr Aberle said.

"Further work has also been scheduled for 2009 and 2010, including the replacement and undergrounding of overhead lines in other parts of the region."

Minister's office: 9222 8950

as posted on Media-Newswire.com

Tuesday 20 November 2007

Gozzy Rock 2008

as posted on COGsite

Gozzy Rock will be back at Pioneer Park Federation Drive Gosnells in 2008.
Now in its 21st year Gozzy Rock is the City of Gosnells annual contemporary music competition, promoting original music from emerging bands all over Western Australia.

Gozzy Rock comprises of 16 bands which battle it out at the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre over four nights during January and February in 2008. Eight bands will then be selected to play in the final being held on 24 February 2008.

This year Gozzy Rock is partnering with Western Australian Music Industry (WAMI) for the WAMI Festival to include a stellar line up of Western Australian acts (T.B.A), to play along side the eight bands competing in the final.

Stay tuned for more information!!

So download a registration form from here and get your application to the City of Gosnells Admin before 20 December 2007 to be involved in Gozzy Rock 2008. The best of the best will share in prizes worth $5,000 from Kosmic Music.

Heats are at the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre:

25 January 2008
1 February 2008
8 February 2008
15 February 2008

Final: 24 February 2008 at Pioneer Park Gosnells.

as posted on COGsite

Monday 19 November 2007

Annual Electors Meeting ...

this meeting is due to be held on Monday 10th December at 7pm in the Reception Room of the City of Gosnells building, but please note sometimes the date of the meeting does change so keep this date available but watch out for any news of a date change, local electors are given the opportunity to ask questions and hear about the direction our council is taking, it is a great opportunity to question the finanicals and many electors use it to praise the efforts of the council and councilors

Sunday 18 November 2007

Teacher charged with sex with students

as posted on Herald Sun Sunday

A 31-year-old teacher has been charged with having sex with two female students in Perth.

Police say they charged the man, from Gosnells in eastern Perth, on Friday for the alleged offences against two girls between 2005 and 2007.

He was charged with one count of having a sexual relationship with a child under 16 years, a police statement said.

He was also charged with four counts of indecent dealings with a child 16 years or over by a person in a position of authority, and 10 counts of having sexually penetrated a child 16 years or over by a person in a position of authority.

His next court appearance date was not yet known.

as posted on Herald Sun Sunday

Friday 16 November 2007

Population boom boosts funding pressures

City of Gosnells Mayor Olwen Searle JP has called on both major political parties to pledge a boost to infrastructure funding in key growth areas after figures released today show Perth is growing faster than any other capital city in Australia.

“As a member council of the National Growth Areas Alliance, the City of Gosnells is urging the major political parties to focus on local infrastructure needs in the lead-up to this month’s Federal Election.

“Perth is experiencing near record rates of population growth and the City of Gosnells is no exception as the third fastest growth council in the outer metropolitan area.

“The level of unfunded major infrastructure projects has never been greater and without support now, high growth areas like the City of Gosnells will fall behind,” the Mayor said.

Despite the City’s strong rate of growth, it has remained in the State’s top quartile of financially viable local governments through careful economic management.

“We are proven to be sound financial managers but not even good budgeting will see us through the next 20 years, with an estimated population increase of 40,000,” Mayor Searle added.

“Already, the City’s growth has sparked a project backlog worth millions of dollars and the gap continues to widen between what we can fund and what our community needs.

“We have been well supported by the Federal Government in the past and we want to ensure that relationship continues as future funding assistance is vital to the City’s sustainability,” the Mayor said.

“New suburbs like Southern River and Canning Vale have had phenomenal growth in recent years and there are no signs of this slowing down with the City issuing more 3200 building licence approvals a year.

“With these new residential areas comes a need for the City to provide new roads, parks, footpaths, community centres and family services. At the same time, there is still a need to maintain infrastructure in established communities.

“Federal support is vital if we are to meet the demand for road projects in particular, the $4 million widening of Garden Street, between Nicholson Road and Warton Road – a major traffic link for big growth suburbs.

Mayor Searle said the National Growth Areas Alliance was about getting financial support for well run, high growth councils.

“Given the City’s financial track record and strong partnership the Federal Government, I am confident that whoever wins the Federal Election will understand the benefit of providing additional funding so that the City may continue to build strong, vibrant communities.”

Key unfunded projects in the City of Gosnells:

$2.5 million – widening of Corfield Street, Gosnells (Verna Street to Eileen Street)
$2.5 million – bridge duplication (Burslem Drive, Maddington)
$250,000 – traffic signals (Albany Highway-Gosnells Road West intersection)
$1.25 million – widening of Burslem Drive (Olga Road to Albany Highway)
$125,000 – roundabout at Gosnells Road West-Alcock Street intersection
$95,000 – roundabout at Alcock Street-Flax Street-Harmony Fields access
$636,000 – to begin Walter Padbury Reseve redevelopment


as posted on COGsite

Thursday 15 November 2007

for the record ...

Gosnells City Council uses FTR Gold® to improve the efficiency of
fortnightly meetings


Organisation Overview
The City of Gosnells, Western Australia is located 17 kilometres southeast of Perth, the state capital. It encompasses 127 square kilometres, an area about the same size as Paris, and continues to grow rapidly. About 40% of the city area remains undeveloped, but officials anticipate that over AU$1.8 billion commercial and residential development will take place during the next ten years.

Organisational Challenge
As the decision-making body of such a fast-growing city, it falls to the mayor and councillors to manage and facilitate the bidding and funds allocation for projects such as the revitalization of the downtown business district, the renovation of the civic centre and public buildings, and redevelopment of older suburbs to encourage new growth.

Council officers identified the need for recording meetings following several challenges by Councillors as to the accuracy of the minutes. On several occasions, it was alleged that what had been stated at a meeting and what was actually printed in the minutes was completely different, with the recording of comment being open to the interpretation of the minute taker. Consequently, in order to overcome unnecessary dispute, Council officers decided to record proceedings, and began to evaluate appropriate products.

Technology Solution
After considering several solutions, the council decided FTR Gold would best suit its needs. The product was far superior to any other assessed and was chosen for its: ease of use, excellent clarity of recordings, immediate playback facility, compatibility with existing software, instant access to previous recordings, ability to copy part or whole recordings with ease, and its capability of hyperlinking recording times into Microsoft Word™ documents.

The councillors were also impressed by FTR Log Notes,™ a component of the FTR Gold suite, because it’d enable them to take notes during proceedings or while listening to previously recorded audio, and use the notes to refer back to the record.

The Gosnells City Council installed FTR Gold on a standard PC along with Microsoft Office™. They linked the PC to a conference recording microphone system, plugged the microphones into an audio mixer, and configured the sound card in the PC to work with the microphones and audio mixer. The agenda for every city council meeting is created in Microsoft Word™ with hyperlinks alongside the topics for discussion. When activated, each hyperlink refers the listener to the location in the record where that topic was discussed so the listener can hear the corresponding audio. According to Pamela Campbell,

Manager Information Services for the City of Gosnells, there are no more arguments about what was actually said at meetings. “All we have to do is use the FTR Gold system to find and play exactly what was said,” she says.”

Operational Results

The Gosnells City Council has been using the FTR Gold system since August 2001 and has seen a marked improvement in the efficiency of its meetings. Besides solving the problem about “who actually said what at meetings,” FTR Gold has helped make council meetings more orderly.

as posted on ForTheRecord

Day one ..

the following reply was given ...

Thankyou for your enquiry. Council meetings are conducted under the provisions of the City of Gosnells Standing Orders Local Law 2003, a co...