VICTORIA’S peak body representing councils has called for the introduction of on-the-spot fines for “unreasonable noise from residential premises” among a range of recommendations for the state government.
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Bendigo councillors were among those to attend the Municipal Association of Victoria’s State Council in Melbourne this week, where more than 60 motions were passed.
They called for a review of the rate capping policy, believing it placed an unnecessary strain on councils that were increasingly suffering cost-shifting measures.
A motion requesting an overhaul of the state’s waste legislation to recognise waste and resource recovery as an “essential service” mirrored one passed by the City of Greater Bendigo this week.
Cr James Williams said the state government had been collecting more waste revenue as part of its measures to encourage councils to promote recycling, and this could be used to help councils find waste recovery solutions.
“We’re now working with that regional waste committee in terms of a recycling, re-purposing, reusing facility,” he said.
“It needs to happen within this region, and one would assume Bendigo, as the largest contributor to that waste stockpile, would be a logical place to put that.
“We will have a proposition to the government in the future.
“It’s very important we resolve this, and it’s not an efficient way to dispose of waste to truck it to Patho, Stanhope or wherever.”
Other motions passed at the MAV State Council include reducing poker machine numbers by 2032, funding for new schools in growth areas, refraining from selling public houses to private developers and having all councils be included in the Refugee Welcome Zone program.
The motion for on-the-spot fines for unreasonable noise included residential construction sites.
Council also want the state government to address the shortage of maternal and child health nurses, to establish a group of “key stakeholders” to manage feral pests, provide greater resources for asylum seeker settlement services and to use the Fire Services Levy to renew firefighting infrastructure in regional Victoria.
The MAV State Council meets twice a year to pass motions, voted on by council representatives.
