News Alert |

Key insights about flexible parking technology and Waste to Energy will be the subject of a two-day visit to Auckland in November. 

A City of Ballarat delegation will meet with representatives of the City of Auckland and Transport Auckland, as well as New Zealand- based technology companies to learn from that city’s experiences with the introduction of flexible parking technology in recent years.  

Sustainability Portfolio Councillor Ben Taylor, and two City of Ballarat officers directly involved in the development of the Smarter Parking Strategy will travel to New Zealand to undertake the discussions. City of Ballarat Chief Executive Officer Justine Linley will meet the delegation there, taking time out from scheduled leave, to introduce the delegates to counterparts at the City of Auckland. 

In May, City of Ballarat Council voted to undertake extensive community consultation and information program on the proposed Smarter Parking Plan. Council will soon consider the results of the engagement program and a recommended position on the plan. Findings gathered from the visit will be the subject of a report to Council which will inform this process.  

Cr Taylor said the visit was a change to gain first-hand information from people and organisations who have implemented flexible parking technology. 

“Smarter parking is a critically important issue for Ballarat going forward, and we need to learn from the experience of people and organisations who have stepped this out before us,” Cr Taylor said.  

“While there we also utilising the opportunity to further investigate a working Waste to Energy Facility, which will help inform us as we go through that process.”  

Cr Taylor and Ms Linley will also visit Waste to Energy Limited, a Waste to Energy facility operating on the outskirts of Auckland. 

The information gathered from the visit will include costs associated with implementation, public expectations and implementation issues and the technical requirements of the technology. 

The City of Ballarat has been planning for a Waste to Energy facility for five years, which would divert 60 per cent of the city’s waste into an affordable and secure energy source for industry, reduce carbon emissions and decrease the current regional landfill’s environmental impacts.  

In August, the City of Ballarat signed a Heads of Agreement with global firm, Malaysian resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB). 

The agreement allows MRCB to undertake a due diligence study leading to a business case for a Victorian first, $300 million municipal Waste to Energy Facility in the Ballarat West Employment Zone. 

Insights from this part of the trip, in addition to information gathered from European Waste to Energy, or Energy Recovery facilities, will help to better inform any future Council decisions on a Ballarat Waste to Energy facility.  

The cost of the visit is estimated to be less than $1500 per delegate. The two-day visit will occur from Monday 12 November to Wednesday 14 November. A report on the visit and outcomes will be made to a meeting of Council in December 2018.