Minutes BHA MEETING Monday 18Th March 2019 7:00 pm at Senior Citizens

Welcome Sandy Gatehouse

Apologies; Brian Cook, Judith Brooks, Lyle Allen.

28 attendees members of the BHA and the Save Barwon Heads Alliance. John Hughes, Denis Jones, Brenda Reidy, Stephen M, Karen Firth, Indy Adelson, Cathy Stewart, Jenny Wallace Smith, Jan Paisley, Andrea Dennett, Jane Vaugh, Karen Weaver, Rob & Alex Kuebler, Pamela & Tom Hoyne, Gabrielle Nagle, H Muhth, Phillip Bade, Bill Sharp.

The first half of the meeting was co-chaired with Angela Hawdon the President of the Save Barwon Heads Alliance. Angela introduced Geoff Brooks from DWELP

MANAGEMENT OF MURTNAGHURT AND TIDAL CHANNEL RAMSAR Management of the Ramsar Wetlands to the west of Barwon Heads: Murtnaghurt Lagoon and the tidal channel. We all strongly support the Departmental position and hope you will be interested to hear directly from the Departmental official who presented at the Structure Plan Panel Hearing.

Sparrowvale – partnership between the developer, the Commonwealth, and the council.

Stormwater Ozone Road

OTHER ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION

BRACE “Barwon Region Alliance for Community Energy” – announcement by Labor Shadow Minister for the Environment - Mark Bulter for funding of a Community Energy Hub for the Barwon Region. Karen Weaver talked about this renewable energy project, which will be a reality if Labor is elected in May.

TRAFFIC & PARKING – update on sub-committee meeting March 88h March 2019 - John Nolan

ELECTION FORUM WITH OCEAN GROVE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION 1st May 2019 7:00pm at the Ocean Grove Bowling Club

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LOCAL ISSUES FOR FEDERAL ELECTION – items so far are there any more?

• PLANNING o Planning & protecting the Bellarine

• TRAFFIC AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT o Integrated transport strategy for the Bellarine o Geelong Ring Rd – the Bellarine Link o Improving traffic flow though Ocean Grove o Encouraging alternative traffic routes to Barwon Heads o Improved public transport, cycle and pedestrian connectivity; in particular improved public transport throughout the Bellarine connecting Barwon Heads and also from Geelong to . • ENVIRONMENT o Protection of the Ramsar wetlands and marine parks from contamination from over development and over population o Protecting the beaches from erosion o Impacts of global warming coupled with over development • LOCAL BARWON HEADS PROJECTS o Improved Barwon Heads pedestrian network, providing safe connections especially for the younger families in the north of town o Support for a Community Hub in Clifford Pde

HEALTH IN BARWON HEADS

Folllow up answers to our latest questions (in bold):

Dear Ms Gatehouse, Thank you for your email and attendance at the open house session last week. We very much appreciated the time taken by the community to share their concerns and individual stories. We are also keen to ensure that communication is not via mainstream media but directly with community. We are, however, obligated to respond to media inquires when they arise. In regard to your specific questions:

There appear to be lots of cooks in the kitchen; can you please confirm who has overall accountability?

A number of issues have been raised by the community on the including concerns about potential cancer risk, agricultural practice, land use change, school properties and environmental testing. You are correct that responsibility for these issues sits across a number of government departments and agencies.

We have been keen to ensure we have the appropriate expertise and information on hand to manage the response, and to ensure the information offered to the community is consistent and coordinated. We have therefore adopted an inter-agency approach with DHHS in a coordinating role. This was initiated and coordinated by the Chief Health Officer, but responsibility for different aspects of the response sits with the relevant agency or department, since each department will have its own role and legislative remit.

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Where are the reports and information distributed on the day made accessible to the broader community?

Key reports provided at the open house session are available on the City of Greater Geelong website. In response to additional feedback and inquiries we received at the session, we are also updating our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ and seeing if all agencies can make more data and reports available online. At the ‘health’ table we also had copies of the National Health and Medical Research Council statement on cancer clusters, which is available online at: https://nhmrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/images/ps0006_statement_cancer_clusters.pdf

Is there going to be a report of the findings from the day?

A brief update has been provided by the Chief Health Officer on the City of Greater Geelong website reflecting on the open house session and actions going forward. More updates will be forthcoming.

Have you got sufficient information from the day for further follow up? If not what further information do you need.

At this stage, we are still making contact with individuals who provided their details on the night. After this, all agencies will assess any new information to see what further actions are possible or appropriate. If further information or clarification is needed, this will be sought from the community or other relevant groups.

There appears to be growing concern about the mosquito spraying that takes place every year.

Who is responsible for this?

City of Greater Geelong conducts a mosquito management program on public land in coastal areas in the Geelong area. More information on this is available at https://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/mosquitoes/article/item/8cf4f282ea006f1.aspx We will also explore more data on this issue with relevant agencies and provide what information we can.

How is it monitored.

The program is managed by City of Greater Geelong. In response to discussion at the open house, they are preparing further detailed information about the program and the insecticides used to provide to community. They anticipate that this will be available shortly. Sincerely danny ------Dr Danny Csutoros Senior Medical Advisor Regulation, Health Protection and Emergency Management Division Department of Health & Human Services | 50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000 p. 03 9096 7801 | e. [email protected] Please note I am not in the department on Mondays

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Health Protection Branch office based sustainability reminder: Please turn off your monitors when leaving the office.

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