Welcome, from MADRA Committee
Dear Members,
We are delighted to have the technology in place to now be able to reach out to you directly. MADRA will be updating you regularly on how we are progressing, so please check in with friends and associates to make sure they have received this email - look in the SPAM/junk folder and if no email is received, please contact mallacoota.district.assoc.2020@gmail.com so we can keep your details updated.
We will also continue to inform you via updates in the Mouth, EGSC newsletter, on our Facebook page and on 3MGB. In addition, we are working on our website and plan for this to be up and running soon.
Making MADRA community led
As a committee we are deeply committed to locally led recovery, supporting OUR community to move forward in the way that best suits our community’s needs. This also means working out HOW community led recovery can work and what it will look like for us - this is a new model for government agencies and local communities to try to work with and implement. It is a process we are trying to get right, but it has been tricky (at times) to balance what our community needs and expects, with local and state government
frameworks.
Our immediate priorities are ensuring those affected by the bush fires who need help are getting it and preparedness for the next bush fire season. We are working closely with Katie Symes as the Hub Co-coordinator and with local organisations to identify “gaps” and solutions based on local knowledge and insight.
Getting our structure right has consumed a fair bit of our time. This includes negotiating with all levels of government on what constitutes community led development and what responsibilities belong with Government.
Firm foundations have been laid:
Subcommittees and working groups have been established to address fuel
management, natural environment, economic, media, built environment and youth priorities. Further subcommittees are in the process of standing up.We are providing letters of support for funding proposals initiated by other community organisations which are compatible with community social, environmental and economic values.
Our draft Recovery Plan is being developed. This document outlines our priorities under each of the Bush fire Recovery Victoria (BRV) bush fire recovery pillars of Aboriginal Healing and Culture, People and Well Being, Built Environment, Natural Environment and Economic. This is a dynamic document reflecting community input and will be adjusted as circumstances change.
The MADRA committee has been working tirelessly to ensure transparency and
accountability. This stage of formation is slow and often difficult to see what progress has been made - but rest assured we are doing ALL that we can, responding as soon as is able to the many requests and requirements.
The Covid-19 restrictions have impeded connection, incidental conversations and ‘in person” dialogue. We strive to mitigate this with zoom meetings, emails and countless missives to the community. Our community recovery from the bush fires has been impeded - no gatherings, no hugs, less opportunity to connect with one another, this is stunting our recovery and fueling frustration, anxiety and a wealth of yet unknown mental health and well-being issues. We need to remember that although feeling isolated, we are all in this together, that we need to remember the best of each other and any sense of community division can often be remediated by a conversation - reach out to others if you can, be safe and be kind.
We thank you for your continued support in offers of voluntary assistance, participation in subcommittees and the ongoing interest in our community’s direction. This is the start of a journey but we are making progress and will continue to do so with your support.
Thank you,
The MADRA Committee