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Mildura Weekly : Friday July 17 Vol 9 No 36
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NEWS 11 FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2015 MILDURAWEEKLY.COM.AU Jail for man who dumped, burnt rubbish A 44-year-old Mildura man has been sen- tenced to one month’s jail – and ordered to pay costs of $426.28 – after pleading guilty to a number of charges relating to dumping rubbish and setting it alight in a state forest near Red Cliffs between December 2014 and January 2015. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Land and Fire offi- cer Geoff Tyers said officers discovered a pile of burnt rubbish in Cardross Koor- long State Forest during a routine patrol on December 11, 2014. “The fire spread into nearby bush- land and had the potential to grow into a more serious bushfire,” he said. “In January this year while patrolling the same forest we found another pile of dumped rubbish that had also been set alight. “While it is astounding that anyone would think it is okay to dump rubbish in a forest, it is incredibly alarming that it was set alight, as the result could have been a bushfire that impacted not only on the environment, but people’s lives. “If this person had sorted the rub- bish into recyclables, much of it could have been taken to the Mildura Landfill at no cost.” The case was heard at Mildura Mag- istrates’ Court last week, when the man pleaded guilty to charges under the For- est Act 1958 and the Environmental Pro- tection Act 1970. Mr Tyers encouraged those with in- formation about illegal activity on pub- lic land to report it to DELWP on 136 186. A VICTORIAN Electoral Com- mission ‘representation review’ for Mildura Rural City Council should look at how councillors are voted in, including discus- sion about replacing the exist- ing preferential voting system, according to Mildura Mayor Glenn Milne. The VEC review started on Wednesday this week and will examine whether Mildura resi- dents are represented by the appropriate number of coun- cillors and if the municipal- ity should be subdivided into wards. As part of the review, Mildu- ra Council residents can make submissions to the VEC as well as attend a public information session next Wednesday. Cr Milne said he believed re-visiting whether the prefer- ential voting system was still appropriate could have been included in the review. “If you’re going to have an electoral review, you look at all the options, and one of the op- tions that hasn’t been put up is the ‘first past the post’ system,” he said. “We have nine councillors to represent us, but peoples’ votes only really count for the first one or two councillors, and it’s the same with Federal and State elections. “I think that for Council you have nine councillors, well, you should get nine votes that count. So, instead of a prefer- ence system, you just tick nine boxes and the people with the most community support get the most votes. “I think that would be a bet- ter way of judging who the vot- ers want to represent them.” While the review will look at whether wards should be re- introduced, Cr Milne is against the idea. The Mayor said a ward sys- tem would be more costly, create segregation in the com- munity and potentially deprive suitable candidates from stand- ing for election. “I know in some coun- cils there’s no competition for certain wards because no-one wants to stand up, but then you might get eight people wanting to stand in another ward who are all fantastic,” he said. “I think that in local govern- ment you are called to do the right thing by the whole com- munity, not just one section, and lately we’ve seen a few statements from councillors saying ‘these are the people I represent’. Well, no, you repre- sent the whole community. “If you’ve got wards, you’re expected to represent the peo- ple of that ward, so you really end up dividing the popula- tion. “You’re creating segregation and competition, because ward councillors will be making the decision they think best for their ward rather than the wider com- munity. “You could come up with reasons in support of wards, but I think there are more reasons against them.’ Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately said public sub- missions were a vital part of the review process and encouraged Sunraysia residents to attend next Wednesday’s public infor- mation session, which starts at 7pm at Council’s Deakin Avenue Civic Building. Submissions can be made via an online submission form at vec.vic.gov.au, sent by email to mildura.review@vec.vic.gov. au, posted to VEC, Level 11, 530 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victo- ria 3500 or faxed to 9629 8632. The deadline for preliminary submissions is 5pm, Wednesday, August 12. The VEC will release a pre- liminary report on September 9, containing proposed options for Council’s electoral structure, before allowing a month of sub- missions in response to the re- port. A final report is expected to be released on November 4, con- taining the VEC’s recommen- dations to Victorian Minister for Local Government Natalie Hutchins. Preferential voting needs review: Mayor • Mildura Rural City Council Mayor Glenn Milne. “If you’re going to have an electoral review, you look at all the options and one of the options that hasn’t been put up is the ‘first past the post’ system.” – Mayor Milne *Providing you have already served your waiting periods, are within your annual limit and you hold an eligible level of cover. *Providing you have already served your waiting periods, are within your annual limit and you hold an eligible level of cover. 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