We need more time

COUNCILLOR Jack Herry has stopped a strategy from going to public exhibition because he believes some of the goals in the document need to be altered. The Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2021-2026 was expected to be put out for public consultation after last week's ordinary council meeting but Cr Herry moved an alternative motion to give him and fellow councillors more time to discuss and consider some of its contents. The strategy, in its tabled form, highlighted challenges for the rural city including unsustainable resource use, pest plants and animals, changes to land use, ongoing loss of habitat, water resource availability, soil health issues, adverse weather events and climate change. "I think there is room for reviewing some of the goals in the document and further discussion among councillors with the direction we would like the Rural City of Wangaratta to take," Cr Herry told last week's council meeting. "I think that we haven't had an opportunity to discuss that given that we've come out of the elections late last year and into the break, just starting the year now. "Some more time for that would be very beneficial for us as a group." The executive summary of the draft document, as it was tabled, described the document as a plan for a healthy, resilient, and 'green' future for our municipality. "We recognise that climate change and degradation of natural environmental assets are defining issues of our time and the strategy outlines a vision and action plan over the next five years to address these concerns in order to ensure sustainable social and economic prosperity for the Rural City of Wangaratta," the summary reads. One of the objectives in the initial draft strategy, for instance, was the setting of a target of 50 per cent emissions reduction for council's electricity, fuel and gas usage by 2026. "This challenge means we will need to continue retrofitting council-owned buildings, upgrading assets with innovative solutions and investing into renewable energy," the initial draft strategy read. "Taking into account that electricity makes 66 per cent of our emission profile, the falling prices in renewables in Victoria, and the opportunities for renewable energy purchasing through either green power or power purchasing agreements, we believe this is a realistic target for our operations." The agenda item is now due to be tabled again at council's February 23 meeting, with potential changes to the strategy, before it goes out for public exhibition.

We need more time

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