Council News 31 October 2018

COUNCIL NEWS 31 OCTOBER 2018

Council and Fairfax representatives met last Thursday 25 October, 2018 to work together to find a solution to the proposed closure of the Grenfell Record Office.

Fairfax representatives advised Council they are introducing a new mobile working model whereby staff will be working possibly one day a week from Cowra and the remainder of the week in Grenfell. Staff will be going out into the community to source news articles for the Grenfell Record which will still be issued twice a week.

Fairfax representatives have agreed to work with Council to find a suitable central site for residents to meet with the Grenfell Record staff on a regular basis.

As a result of these developments the public meeting scheduled for Friday 26 October, 2018 was cancelled.

The Federal Government has again delivered for drought affected communities by simplifying the Farm Household Allowance claim form.

The Hon Michael McCormack MP has advised the Government has cut the form by a third – reducing the number of questions from 110 to 73 and reducing it from 15 pages to 10. Critical eligibility questions are grouped together at the front of the form so applicants know more quickly if they are eligible for the allowance. 

The Liberal and Nationals’ Government has already delivered an additional $1.8 billion in drought relief over recent months. Included in the $1.8 billion in drought assistance is extending the Drought Communities Programme which supports  councils with a cash injection through projects such as local infrastructure and roadworks, injecting $5 million more into the Rural Financial Counselling Service, extending the Farm Household Allowance from three years to four years, increasing the farm assets test eligibility threshold for the allowance from $2.6 million to $5 million and paying supplementary lump sum payments of up to $12,000.

Mr McCormack is reminding farmers that Rural Financial Counsellors can help them fill out Farm Household Allowance claim forms and applications can also be submitted online or over the telephone. 

A review is under way to make sure the Farm Household Allowance is effectively supporting farmers and to see if there are ways to improve it even further.

For more information on the Farm Household Allowance visit: www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/farm-household-allowance

Residents are reminded that the Rural Financial Counselling Service NSW Central Region have previously advised that Financial Counsellor, Peni Usumaki, visits Grenfell on a regular basis. The Rural Financial Counselling Service provides free impartial and confidential services to farmers and small agricultural businesses.   They also provide information and assistance with farm innovation funds, natural disaster assistance and can assist in helping clients with a better understanding of their financial position.  Appointments are necessary and can be made on Ph 1800 940 404 or mobile 0408 973 723.

Central West Local Land Services are hosting a series of workshops delivered by a world class facilitator to empower central west organisations to deliver quality results for their customers, stakeholders and members.

The workshops will be facilitated by Steven Bowman who is a global governance and Senior Executive Team development specialist. His consultancy, Conscious Governance is an international, independent advisory service for non-profit boards, CEOs, Directors, providing strategic planning, board governance, leadership and risk management consulting services. He works with organisations across all sectors and provides resources, guidance and online programs that help promote strong governance practices. Steven currently works with over 1,000 not-for-profit and corporate organisations each year in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia in Governance, Executive Leadership and Consciousness at work.

Registration is open to regional board and committee members and their project officers and managers from any industry, not-for-profit, community service, Natural Resource Management agency or organisation that would like to improve the performance of their organisation or business.

Lunch is included for both workshop sessions and, with a diverse range of professionals expected, the workshops will prove to be an excellent networking opportunity.

Workshops:

Location

Venue

Date

Time

Workshop

Forbes

Forbes Inn, 43 Rankin St

Tuesday, 20 November

Wednesday, 21 November

8.30am – 4.00pm

8.30am – 12.00pm

Good governance

Strategic planning

Dubbo

Cattleman’s Motor Inn

8 Whylandra St

Thursday, 22 November

Friday, 23 November

8.30am – 4.00pm

8.30am – 12.00pm

Good governance

Strategic planning

Please visit www.tinyurl.com/cwllsworkshops for more information.

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke has encouraged fishing clubs across the Cootamundra electorate to apply for funding from the NSW Recreational Fishing Trust.

The grants are open to anyone, including fishing clubs and organisations, universities, councils, community groups, and individuals. This funding has the potential to make a real difference to our community, by supporting our local fishers and the businesses that rely on this fun, outdoor pastime.

Funding is being provided for projects such as recreational fishing education, fishing access and facilities, improving fish habitat, fisheries research and much more.

In past years projects that received funding included fishing platforms, fish cleaning facilities, fish stocking, fish aggregating devices, fishing workshops, the Fishcare Volunteer program and fish habitat rehabilitation.

Around $15 million is raised from the sale of recreational fishing licences each year, which is then re-invested back into projects that benefit recreational fishing. This grants program demonstrates the NSW Government’s ongoing support for the recreational fishing industry which adds about $3.4 billion to the State’s economy each year, and creates more than 14,000 full-time jobs.

Applications close on November 30, 2018, and joint applications, including those that combine freshwater and saltwater projects, are encouraged.

More information is available at https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/recreational-fishing-fee/licence-fees-at-work/apply-for-funds

Central Tablelands Water have advised that at a meeting of Council held in Grenfell on 10 October 2018, Cr David Somerville, representing Blayney Shire Council as Chairman and Cr Kevin Walker, representing Cabonne Council, as Deputy Chairman were elected for the next 12 months.

Both Cr Somerville and Cr Walker are serving their fifth term as Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively.

The current exhibition at the Grenfell Art Gallery is "Poppies for Remembrance" conducted by the Grenfell Garden Club which officially opened on Tuesday 16 October 2018. The exhibition will be on display until the 25th November, 2018.

The exhibition is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the first Armistice Day and the Flanders Poppy and includes a display of memorabilia, posters and photos from WW1, a large display of knitted & crochet poppies as well as an exhibition/competition of poppy art.

The Art Gallery is open Monday to Friday 10am - 4pm, Saturday 10am - 3pm & Sunday 10am -2pm.

The next film to be screened at the Grenfell Cinema will be “Singin’ in the rain” rated G at 10am Tuesday 6 November, 2018.  Please see the adjacent advertisement for further details.

Dates to Note

Friday 2 November 2018 –Recycling Collection (Grenfell East)

Monday 5 November 2018 – Recycling Collection (Grenfell West)

Street Stalls

Friday 2 and Saturday 3 October - Grenfell Preschool & Long Day Care Centre

PO BOX 125                                                                                                 AUTHORISED BY

GRENFELL                                                                                                     GLENN CARROLL

                                                                                                                      GENERAL MANAGER