Candidate forum latest

THREE of the five Legislative Council election candidates for Derwent have confirmed their intention to appear at a public forum in New Norfolk on Monday night. They are the three New Norfolk-based candidates Phil Bingley, Craig Farrell and Ray Williams. Apologies have been received from Deirdre Flint, of Hollow Tree, and Jenny Branch, of Claremont.

The forum at the New Norfolk District Football Club on Monday (May 2) will start at 7pm with each candidate being given the opportunity to make a brief statement. After these introductory proceedings there will be a public question and answer session.

Please note: By law, comments relating to the election must include the given name, surname and locality of the writer. Anonymous comments cannot be published during the election period. 

Public forum

Council media release - Tidy Towns Awards

MAYOR Martyn Evans issued the following media release today.

"Mayor Martyn Evans and Ian Lacey from the Tidy Towns Committee represented the Derwent Valley at the National Awards over the weekend and was thrilled that New Norfolk has won the Young Legends and Heritage & Culture category awards at the Keep Australia Beautiful, Australian Tidy Towns Awards.

"It was a great honour to be representing New Norfolk at these awards, and I was very proud to be able to deliver the good news to those involved on Saturday night. This just shows how our community when it works together can achieve great things. The judges commented on the partnerships developed between community organisations, the Tidy Towns Committee and Council.  These partnerships were the key to our achievements,” Mayor Evans said.

"The judges were impressed with the work that has been done on the Back River Cemetery, an historical icon of the area which houses the grave of Betty King, said to be the first white woman to set foot in Australia.  This project was bought together through a partnership between Council, the church community, Lions Club and the Chamber of Commerce.

The category of Young Legends celebrates youth participation in the community.  D’FAT the Council’s youth advisory group has reason to be particularly proud of their achievements in this area. In 2009, D’FAT members recognised that there were ongoing issues with the Ellis Dean Reserve, and after community and Council consultations took responsibility for the area. D’FAT now works with Council to keep the area well maintained and clean, including members of D’FAT removing graffiti. One of D’FAT’s initiatives was to include a legal graffiti wall, which has proved very popular with local youth.  In 2010 a graffiti art workshop was held in partnership with New Norfolk High School and D’FAT.

Matt Hill, Council’s Youth Participation Officer, said he was very proud of what has been achieved. “From being a founding member of D’FAT, and now working with Council as the Youth Development Officer, I can see the changes that have happened over the years. I’d like to congratulate everyone involved, from each of the members of D’FAT to Council and the Councillors who have put their faith in us. Everyone should be very proud of what has been achieved,” Matt Hill said.

Council’s entry in Tidy Towns was spearheaded by Cr Narelle Hill, the Council Representative on the Tidy Towns Committee. “It’s just fantastic to see what we can achieved when we work together, this has been a real team effort, with members of the community, local service organisations and businesses all pulling together. I’d like to thank everyone who has taken part in some way”, Cr Hill said.

Tidy Towns awards take into consideration many things when judging the awards and the community spirit of an area and initiatives being undertaken are taken into account, as well as the tidiness of the town. There’s a lot going on under the surface that we sometimes forget, from the work of the Historical Information Centre to promote our important history, to initiatives in food waste management at Molesworth Primary and Glenora District school, are just a couple of examples, many people are involved in some way. These awards are recognition of the hard work done by many people, and give us something to build on into the future,” Martyn Evans said.

Phil says: Deposit it

THE Greens candidate for Derwent, Phillip Bingley, has launched a petition calling on the State Government to introduce legislation for container deposit legislation (CDL), following the lead of South Australia and the Northern Territory.

“Tasmania has for too long been selling itself as the clean, green state of Australia. Yet successive Liberal and Labor governments have been unwilling to introduce a simple and commonsense strategy, which would deliver a 10 cent refund on all used cans and bottles. Such a straightforward system would dramatically reduce roadside littering, waste to landfill, whilst creating hundreds of real green jobs,” Mr Bingley said.

“The Keep Australia Beautiful’s National Litter Index revealed that Tasmanians are Australia’s worst litter bugs, and if Tasmania were to introduce CDL similar to that of South Australia and the Northern Territory, the public will have that incentive to recycle and reclaim their deposit from the time of purchase. Every day that we delay implementing this scheme means more recyclable waste clogging up our waterways, playgrounds, roadsides, and landfill,” Mr Bingley said.

Please note: By law, comments relating to the election must include the given name, surname and locality of the writer. Anonymous comments cannot be published during the election period.

Derwent candidates named

FIVE candidates have nominated to contest the 2011 Legislative Council election to fill the seat of Derwent following Michael Aird's early retirement. The candidates are, in alphabetical order as named by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission yesterday:

BINGLEY, Phillip (of New Norfolk, environmental health officer) Tasmanian Greens
BRANCH, Jenny (of Claremont, manager, teacher assistant, alderman) Independent
FARRELL, Craig (of New Norfolk, electorate officer, deputy mayor) Australian Labor Party
FLINT, Deirdre (of Hollow Tree, local government elected member), Independent
WILLIAMS, Ray (of New Norfolk, retailer) Independent

Names on the ballot paper are rotated and may not appear in this order. If a candidate has been nominated by a registered party, this will be indicated on the ballot paper. Electors who cannot get to a polling place on polling day (May 7) must vote early. This can be done by post or in person during normal business hours at location including the Australian Electoral Commission, 2fd floor, NAB House (formerly AMP Building), 86 Collins St, Hobart. Pre-poll voting can also be done at any Australian Electoral Commission office around Australia and at Bridgewater after Easter. Postal vote applications are available at any post office or electoral office or online at www.tec.tas.gov.au or by calling 13 23 26.

An electronic system to assist vision-impaired electors to vote independently will be available during the pre-poll period and on polling day. For more details call 13 23 26.

Please note: By law, comments relating to the election must include the given name, surname and locality of the writer. Anonymous comments cannot be published during the election period. 

McDonald's dispute goes to mediation

PUBLIC input is being urgently sought on how the proposed New Norfolk McDonalds' Restaurant should look. Mediation has been ordered between the parties who appealed the Derwent Valley Council's recent approval of the development and this is set down for this Thursday, April 7. Before then, design concepts and ideas are being sought from the community for the proposed fast food outlet and these can be forwarded to Jim on 0408 535 086 on or before April 7.

Bingley queries x-ray promise

THE Tasmanian Greens candidate for the Upper House division of Derwent, Phillip Bingley, yesterday called on Health Minister Michelle O’Byrne to confirm to the Derwent Valley community when the New Norfolk Hospital's X-ray service would be be re-established. "With the closure of the Ouse Hospital several years ago, the State Government stated that it would improve health services in the Derwent Valley, yet the most basic service, having an x-ray, has not been available in New Norfolk, despite there being a fully equipped facility," Mr Bingley said.

“It has been too long for the Derwent Valley to have been without such a critical service. It is a significant burden on the Tasmanian Ambulance Service to have to transport elderly residents to Hobart to have a simple X-ray; having a local facility available will free up the ambulances for the emergencies that they are really needed for. It can be very distressing for the frail and elderly in our community, including residents at ... Corumbene Nursing Home, to spend the best part of a day travelling to Hobart or Glenorchy, often waiting for hours to be seen, when they should be able to go to their local hospital, and then have the resulting images sent directly to their doctor.”

Mr Bingley said Ms O'Byrne had previously indicated that a new computerised X-ray system would be introduced at the Royal Hobart Hospital in July and should give regional hospitals like New Norfolk District Hospital instant access to imaging results. "This needs to be confirmed to the local community,” Mr Bingley said.


Please note: The writ for the Legislative Council election was issued yesterday. By law, comments relating to the election must now include the given name, surname and locality of the writer. Anonymous comments cannot be published. 

And Ray makes three

BUSINESSMAN Ray Williams is the third New Norfolk person to signal their intention to nominate for election to the Legislative Council seat of Derwent following the resignation of Michael Aird MLC, which took effect last week. Polling day is May 7.

Mr Williams today confirmed he would stand as an independent candidate along with fellow New Norfolk men Philip Bingley (an endorsed Tasmanian Greens candidate) and Craig Farrell (endorsed Labor Party candidate). They are joined by fellow Derwent Valley resident, Deirdre Flint of Hollow Tree, who recently announced her intention to nominate as an independent candidate.

While a phoney election campaign has been under way for some months, nominations do not close until noon on April 14 and a formal announcement of candidates' names will be made at noon on April 15.

Mr Williams' election platform has a strong country emphasis, featuring the need for more support for farmers and outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, camping, horse riding, four-wheel-driving. "It is my intention to make sure that people that enjoy these activities get a fair go," Mr Williams said.

Please note: The writ for the Legislative Council election was issued today. By law, comments relating to the election must now include the given name, surname and locality of the writer. Anonymous comments cannot be published. 

March advertisement

BELOW is my latest councillor update, published in last week's issue of the Derwent Valley Gazette.