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2022 Annual General Meeting

When: 5:30pm, Wednesday 16 Nov 2022

Where: Boardroom, Belconnen Bowling Club, Beetaloo St Hawker

Notice: 2022 Annual General Meeting

Agenda:

  1. Apologies
  2. Acceptance of the Minutes of the previous AGM on 17 Nov 2021;
  3. Treasurer's Report: Doug Finlayson;
  4. Annual Report 2021-2022: Dave Kelly;
  5. Election of office-bearers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary;
  6. Election of at least three ordinary committee members.

Minutes

Present: David Kelly (DK - president), Rosemary Blemings (RB), Robyn Coghlan (RC -vice president), John Connelly (secretary), Doug Finlayson (DF - treasurer), Chris Watson, Darryl Seto (DS - web master), Russ Temple. 
Visitor: David Wong

Minutes of the last meeting: RC moved that they be accepted, seconded by DS, all agreed.

Presidents Annual Report: DK reported on the various submissions to ACT public consultations in the last year, and noted that transfer of Parkwood to the Act could lead to a change in strategy. RB moved that the report be accepted, seconded by RC, all agreed.

Treasurers report: DF reported that our bank balance ranged from $774.49 at the beginning of the year to $1269,49 at the end of the financial year, and currently $1514.49 at 16th of November. DK moved that the report be accepted, seconded by DS who also moved a vote of thanks to Doug for his many years of service and authorship of the original Ginninderra Falls park plan. All agreed.

Election of office bearers for 2022-23: In the absence of any additional candidates, the following were returned as committee members.

President: David Kelly 
Vice President: Robyn Coghlan 
Secretary: John Connolly 
Committee members: Darryl Seto, Judy Kelly, Rosemary Blemings 
Treasurer: to be filled later.


Treasurer’s Report for the Financial Year 2021-2022

The constitution of the Ginninderra Falls Association stipulates that the Association financial year ends on 30 June each year. This report sets out the accounts of the Association for the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

The income during the financial year was derived mostly from members’ fees and a few donations. The number of financial members during the 2020-21 financial year was 12.

A statement of accounts is attached. The Association bank cheque account exists with the St George Bank (BSB 112-908; Account number 447 299 504) with five signatories (Former President, Former Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Officer), any one of whom may singly operate the account. A receipt book, cheque book and a computer file of bank statements document the Association income.

In summary, the accounts indicate the following –

Net bank and cash assets at 1 July 2021 $774.49
Total income, 2021-22 $570.00
Total expenditure, 2021-22 $75.00
Net bank assets at 30 June 2022 $1269.49

The audited statement of accounts for the financial year 2021-2022 are attached.

Treasurer’s comments:

  • The Association chooses to be a member of the Conservation Council of the ACT along with other likeminded associations; there is a membership fee.
  • The Ginninderra Falls Association reviewed the need for public liability insurance during the year and decided to forgo this expenditure.
  • The Association maintains a web site that, on occasions, incurs commercial administration and running costs.
  • The membership fee for the financial year 2021-2022 was $35 and it is recommended this fee be retained for 2022-23 (no family membership). The membership fee may be waived at the discretion of the committee.
Acknowledgements
  • The Association wishes to thank the following supporters:
  • Individuals, including committee members, who have absorbed costs connected with the operations and administration of the Association and the promotion of the Association in the public domain.
  • The Association wishes specially to thank those individuals who have made donations to the Association.
  • John Wells who audited the Association accounts on 24 August 2022.

Signed 
Douglas Finlayson 
Hon. Treasurer, Ginninderra Falls Association 
24 August 2022


President’s Annual Report

Parkwood to become part of ACT:

This makes planning and consultation easier, because it is now clear that the ACT government is responsible for everything. Yass Council was obviously never interested, and just rubber-stamped what the developers wanted.

Ginninderry Development:

The riverside park has been delayed due to the discovery of cultural artefacts.

The new Shepherd’s Track opened, giving new access to the area. The more rugged section, halfway between Shepherd’s Lookout and Strathnairn, has forest in very good condition, but either end is very weedy.

Cattle are used to keep grass down for bushfire management.

Urban Forest Submission May 2022

A notable feature of Canberra’s older suburbs is their abundant street trees, which enhance the environment and provide summer shade.

This is in contrast to newer suburbs where not enough space is left for large trees. These areas have small exotic trees which provide no wildlife habitat and little shade.

New suburbs must be designed with sufficient space for local native tree species to grow to maturity, or large deciduous trees when needed for buildings.

Mature Tree Action Plan Submission May 2022

Native trees take hundreds of years to reach hollow-bearing age, compared to a few months to build a house.

Many species depend for survival on these hollows, as well as other features of mature trees, and Australia, unlike other countries, does not have animals which deliberately make hollows. Therefore, mature trees with hollows are a critical and limiting factor in Australian ecology, and their conservation should take precedence over building construction.

The Action Plan will be released in November.

ACT Planning Bill submission June 2022 and Response

Our Main Point is that the new bill gives too much discretion to the minister (for appointments and procedures) and the chief planner (for approvals). Outcomes-focussed assessment is too vague, and gives developers too much freedom. This will lead to legal costs to taxpayers as ACTPLA and developers argue in court over the meaning of rules.

Response: noted (the most common response)!

Response to request for guidance on permissible development types, zone objectives and precinct codes: not agreed/outside of scope

There needs to be a reassessment of what population is sustainable and what sustainability means. Water is the major limiting factor. Response: population target or limit not agreed.

Pre-DA consultations are to be eliminated. These should be retained, as they should enable the community to influence design and planning before development begins.

Response: replaced by principles of good consultation

EPBC assessment is inadequate to judge to impact of a development, since only species listed as endangered are considered, and the spatial and historical context of a development and its impact is not considered. We suggested IUCN Red list be used instead of EPBC listed species. Response: “not agreed- out of scope”

An environmental significance opinion (from the government) enabling a development to bypass EPBC assessment, should be challengeable by the public.

The government should not rely on developer for EIS assessment: Response: not agreed, out of scope

Consultation response: minister may -> must make guidelines about good consultation (+principles enumerated)

The responses appear to be just a formality to create a pretence of consultation. In the 65 page report of the consultation, only 4 comments resulted in changes to the bill. Common answers were “noted”, or “agreed in principle – no change required”. Two changes appear to make it easier for the minister to declare a “Territory Priority Project”. The others are minor.

A consultation for a new Territory Plan will follow the new planning act. The revised bill is before an Assembly Committee.

New Green Waste facility submission 16th July

The site with a slope of 10% next to a creek close to the Murrumbidgee is unsuitable. Public money should not be wasted on a temporary facility just to facilitate Ginninderry’s development.

Ginninderra Falls Quarry

EDO has confirmed that the quarry is operating beyond its approved area, and we have complained to the NSW Ombudsman about Yass Council’s inaction.

Western Edge Investigation will repeat on a larger scale the problems of Ginninderry, with the possible urban development of a 10,000 ha area stretching from the Cotter Road to Tuggeranong. Preliminary reports have been published, a compilation of existing knowledge, and we summarized them in August. The area has a substantial number of ecological values, many of which are on leased land. The risk to hydrology from development is moderate to high in the northern part, and low to moderate in the south, due to salinity and erosion. Development may conflict with the requirements for preservation of visual amenity in the National Capital Plan. The Cultural studies report is not published. Jason Sharples is doing a dynamic bushfire modelling study of the area.

We made a submission on Bluett’s Block, the only area with public access, but threatened imminently.

River Ecology Assessment:

A new report “Condition Assessment Riparian and Aquatic Ecosystems”, from ACT government, has been completed but will not be available until the end of the year. From it we know this: Most ecosystem assessments are given as poor to moderate, and trends are given commonly as poor or unknown.

mggadmin

At the next Committee meeting, 19 Jan 2023, Judy Kelly agreed to be Treasurer and was duly elected.

Darryl Seto (Committee and Public Officer)

Sun, 22/01/2023 - 12:33 pm Permalink

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