MADRA News and Christmas Greetings
MADRA Committee taking a break
The MADRA committee will be taking a break over January and will reconvene in early February. Our admin support staff will also be taking some leave during January, so please be aware we may be a little slower to respond to emails until we are all back on deck in February.
Telstra update
MADRA received an update from Telstra today: While the large transmission upgrade to support 4G is still pending, Telstra recently completed a smaller upgrade to the existing infrastructure. This will improve capacity over summer to around a 30% increase to the Mallacoota mobile network. Telstra reports that the update on the main project is good and they are looking to have that completed at the end of April; however, that is dependent on equipment (that is currently on schedule) arriving on time.
MADRA’s postcard mailout
Thank you to those who have responded to us by sending their feedback and suggestions by email or by dropping postcards into our suggestion boxes. Please keep your ideas coming in! Feedback can be emailed to: madra.3892@gmail.com
We are collating the responses and the committee will go through them all when we begin meeting again in February.
New committee member
We have welcomed Lea Davis as a new member of the MADRA committee. Thanks for volunteering your time and putting your skills to work for MADRA, Lea.
IGEM meeting with Tony Pearce
Inspector-General for Emergency Management Tony Pearce met with around 28 Mallacoota and District residents at an informal get-together on Tuesday 12 December. Community members were able to hear and share information about the progress of the implementation of recommendations resulting from the Inquiry into the 2019-20 Victorian Fire Season. Many thanks to Tony Pearce for visiting Mallacoota and spending the time to explain some of the recommendations and the progress and chat with us. A document providing an overview of the implementation of recommendations was handed out and this is now available on the MADRA website: https://madrecovery.com
Dept of Transport meeting
Some MADRA committee members and community members recently met with representatives from the Department of Transport and Regional Roads Victoria to discuss issues including piles of wood and debris, dead trees and overgrown vegetation along roadsides and fence lines, particularly in the Genoa area.
Timber Milling Project
We have exciting news to pass on from the East Gippsland Timber Milling Project – the group has managed to source enough funding to be able to start work in Mallacoota in 2023! Watch this space for more details as they are confirmed.
The project is overseen and managed by a committee of combined Lions and Rotarians, who volunteer their time to ensure the project maintains its high standards and ethics. The purpose is to help bushfire-affected communities of East Gippsland with a free timber milling service to turn fallen trees into a useful and viable product, help to clean up properties, and provide cost savings by producing timber suitable for fencing and rebuilding. This work brings hope, empowerment and tangible solutions to our flame-impacted community members.
Project group members have made three visits to Mallacoota and have been to several sites already to assess the workload and available resources, which have exceeded their expectations. MADRA is happy to contribute funding and other support to this great project, which will bring many benefits to our District.
Merry Christmas from MADRA
The MADRA committee would like to wish everybody a happy and safe festive and holiday season. Thank you for your support of MADRA over the past 12 months – your encouragement and kind words really mean a lot.
Thanks,
MADRA