MADRA News - December 2021
The second anniversary of the bushfires is coming up very soon. We will probably all feel a little differently about this, but as a community, we've come a long way since those first dreadful days. While there's no anniversary event this year, it will be on our minds and we will still be sharing our stories. Let's hope we can think about how far we've come and look forward to being another year along the way to recovery.
The MADRA committee will be taking a break over January. The BRV hub will be staffed part-time through January and support is also available through the RFDS, especially through the first week of January.
We welcomed Reiner Hurst as a new member of the MADRA committee in December. Thanks for offering your time and energy, Reiner, we look forward to working together.
We are planning a MADRA and Community Get Together early next year. We'd like to give a progress report on the projects from the voting report that are currently underway and those still in the pipeline. It'll be an opportunity to share ideas and views and give us some feedback on what our priorities should be for the coming year. Watch this space!
It has been a busy few weeks for MADRA coming up to the end of the year. Here's an update on what's been happening:
Housing
MADRA continues to press government agencies to find a solution to the shortage of social housing post-fires. The latest strategy included writing to the Victorian Minister for Housing, the Hon Richard Wynne, seeking a commitment to build housing in Mallacoota and District. Carmel Flynn, the CEO of Bushfire Recovery Victoria, used MADRA’s letter to press Homes Victoria (part of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing) for some action. This resulted in a meeting on 17 December between MADRA, Homes Vic, BRV and EGSC. The meeting resulted in commitments from Homes Vic to look into building social housing in Mallacoota.
It may not sound like much, but it is the first time MADRA has managed to get a commitment of this type from a government agency. MADRA is hoping that a solid plan will develop out of this latest commitment early in the new year. In the meantime, we’re pushing for temporary modular housing to continue to be available, including for people who were renting prior to the fires and lost their rental home either directly due to the fires or because of the changes in the demand for housing post-fires. MADRA is also attempting to have housing pods supplied by the Minderoo Foundation made available to people looking to rebuild or for renters who have lost their homes.
Be Ready Coota Day
The Be Ready Coota Day, held in partnership with EGSC, was much appreciated by all who attended. It was a welcome opportunity to get all the Emergency Services and relevant agencies together and to share useful information and advice. We hope this will become an annual event. Many thanks to all the groups who attended, to Meg and Tess from EGSC who brought it all together at short notice – and to the Lions Club for the added drawcard of a free BBQ.
Grants
Several Mallacoota organisations received grants from the East Gippsland Community Foundation last week.
In his announcement of the grants, Barry Henwood from EGCF, said, “Through a community-led approach the Foundation has focused on distributing funds to communities impacted by the 2019/2020 bushfires. This includes projects linked with Community Recovery Committee (CRC) recovery plans and with strong evidence of priorities driven by meaningful community engagement. Local people know what they need and want for their communities. Our goal and the EGCF funds will help bushfire-affected communities bring these projects to life”.
Congratulations to: the Wilderness Workspace team, the Mallacoota & District Historical Society, the Mallacoota Halls and Recreation Committee of Management, and CHIRF for the Ashes to Music program.
Communications
Re the Telstra Black Spot Tower for the Gipsy Point area: MADRA has been chasing the progress of the Telstra Mobile tower announced in April by Telstra and the State Government. We wrote to several agencies about this matter and so far we have heard back from BRV and Tim Bull, MP. BRV informed MADRA that the matter is a joint State Government and Telstra-funded project, but still no contracts have been signed. Tim Bull has since raised this in Parliament – we look forward to a response.
General works
MADRA is active in engaging with EGSC and DELWP about the progress of works on the land they manage: paths, jetties and other public areas. Thanks to Forest Fire Management, some of the town walking tracks have recently been cleared and graded. We continue to give feedback on the progress of other tracks and about the works at Betka Beach.
The MADRA committee is looking forward to continuing the momentum we’ve gained through the next year. There is still plenty to think about and to work towards for the recovery and resilience of this community and this place we all care about.
Happy Christmas and New Year to All.
Thanks, MADRA.