Loddon Shire Mayoral Column 6 September

Published on 06 September 2022

Nominations for the 2023 Australia Day awards are now open. These awards celebrate the achievements and contributions made by outstanding members of our community.

Council is receiving nominations for the Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year and Community Group/Event of the Year awards.

Nominations are also open for the Community Services Award. The award is presented to a resident from each Council Ward who provided an outstanding contribution to the local community during the current year or noteworthy service to the local community over a number of years.

Nomination forms and further information is available from Council's website or by emailing [email protected]

Nominations for the awards close at 4pm on Friday 21 October 2022.

As part of its Australia Day celebrations in 2023, Loddon Shire will be holding competitions for colouring (Prep to Grade 2), a photographic competition (Junior, Senior and Open categories) and a Literature Competition (for Prep to Year 12).

The topic for the competitions is Someone I admire within the Loddon Shire.

The competitions are free to enter. Entries close at 4pm Friday 21 October 2022.

For more information visit the Australia Day competitions page on Council's website.                                                

New fire danger ratings in Victoria have been introduced, in line with the Australian Fire Danger Rating System.

There are four levels of fire danger in the new system: Moderate, High, Extreme and Catastrophic. Fire danger ratings will be issued on days when there is a fire risk.

Fire danger ratings provide information so that people can take action to protect themselves and others from the potentially dangerous impacts of bushfires and grassfires. The new Fire Danger Rating System will be the same in every state and territory across Australia.

More information is available via the CFA website.

The Sustainable Rural Health Project is looking for health care consumer or carer stories so it can better understand local people’s experiences when accessing health care services in the Buloke, Loddon and Gannawarra shires.

They are seeking to conduct interviews with adults (18 years and older) who have experiences to share of being a patient and/or a carer accessing health care services in the Buloke, Loddon and Gannawarra region.

Interviews will take place either face-to-face, by phone or video call, and will take around 60 minutes. People who participate in an interview will receive a $50 grocery voucher for their time.

If you are interested in participating please contact the project coordinator Dr Nerida Hyett [email protected] or 0457 257 313.

For more information regarding the Sustainable Rural Health Project visit the Murray PHN website.

Council’s community satisfaction survey is currently underway, being undertaken on behalf of Council by JWS Research.

As part of the survey, you may be contacted by National Field Services via phone to discuss Council’s performance.

If your household is selected to take part in the Community Satisfaction Survey please take the time to complete the survey. It is a great opportunity to have your say on the Council services that matter most to you and provide feedback regarding Council and other issues.

The input you provide is also valuable in terms of helping Council improve future service provision.

Council will be conducting these community satisfaction surveys with different community members every quarter – this is to ensure we get a range of feedback from as many of our residents as possible.

The current survey will be undertaken until 30 September 2022. The next surveys will be conducted from 14 November to 11 December 2022, and 23 January to 19 March 2023.

I’d like to thank residents who got in touch with myself and their Ward Councillors to report various issues on the Loddon Shire road network following last week’s wet weather.

Information was passed on to the relevant department at Council, and Council staff were deployed around the Shire to address these issues.

I’d also just like to take this opportunity to remind community members that the quickest way to report a road issue is directly to Council itself. This is so issues can be logged in the system and dealt with as soon as possible – ensuring your concern is documented and dealt with efficiently. 

Council takes its responsibility to provide a road network seriously and appreciates the community’s feedback. Council has designated staff who are responsible for taking these enquires and ensuring that they are seen to.

If you encounter an issue or wish to make a complaint about one of Council’s roads, you can contact the roads team through the main office number on 5494 1200. 

Issues can also be lodged via Council’s website and clicking on “Report an issue”. 

Council also operates an after-hours service for urgent road issues, this is also accessed through the 5494 1200 phone number.

There are several roads in Loddon Shire that are the responsibility of VicRoads. These include the highways and major routes. Issues on these roads can be reported to VicRoads on 13 11 70. 

A list of VicRoads roads within Loddon Shire can be found on Council’s website and opening the appropriate tab.

With more wet weather forecast for this week, I’d also like to remind community members to please take extra care on the roads and to drive safely to road and weather conditions.