Zoe Moffatt
Macedon Ranges council has set out its climate emergency guide for the next seven years, with the intention to bridge the gap between council and community action.
At its meeting on September 27, councillors voted to adopt the draft Climate Emergency Plan and endorse it for community consultation for four weeks.
The plan includes 56 actions and has been guided by the principles of: equity, embed First Nations’ perspectives, mobilisation, collaboration and partnerships, and regeneration.
Cr Jennifer Anderson said she loved the key themes of nurturing nature, climate ready communities, post fossil fuels, health and wellbeing, waste and the circular economy, and adaptation and emergency response.
“I love the way it brings together a lot of things that we are doing already across many of our strategies and plans,” she said.
“I can see that this document takes inspiration from the community and from our Cool Changes events that we had in some of our towns earlier.
“I think it is a plan that acknowledges and includes everyone at all stages of their life and from all backgrounds.”
This plan will guide council to enact its declaration of a climate emergency, which it made on March 24, 2021.
As the mover of the declaration motion, Cr Mark Ridgeway said he has been very interested in the outcomes and is very pleased to see the draft plan.
“I think it does a wonderful job of addressing a lot of the issues which have been raised and a lot of the needs that have been identified,” he said.
“I particularly like the focus on community action. What we’re seeing here is a real effort to actually move out and engage the community.
“The other thing I really like.. [is the] 56 actions to be taken… are both sustainable and financially achievable.
“They are things that can be done without huge cost to council, which are achievable by the community and are sustainable in the long term and will make a difference.”
Key actions for the plan include: a new climate action grant stream, a comprehensive integrated transport strategy, a program for low-income households to transition to renewable energy and resources for council’s recovery and resilience programs.
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