The Port Albert Tattler—FREE
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The Port Albert Tattler—FREE Community Newsletter! Issue No 125 Feb 2020 The “TRUE “Cost of the Worst Bushfires Since Black Saturday The bushfire emergency that began in Australia in September 2019 and has worsened steadily since then has already cost at least 29 lives, destroyed thousands of homes and other buildings , burned millions of acres of forest and farmland and the economic costs are only just beginning to emerge and the bushfire months of February and March are still to come. The Australian government, which only a month ago was treating the crisis as a state-level rather than national problem, has announced an emergency package of $ 2 billion dollars. While it is promising that the government has finally abandoned the fiction that such disasters can be managed by state governments alone, this is just a drop in the bucket. When environmental and health costs are taken into account, economists estimate the TRUE cost to be more than $ 100 billion. So far, insurance claims arising from the fires have totaled $ 700 million alone. But this will be a tiny fraction of the total dam- age to private property. Many properties are uninsured or underinsured and many of those affected haven't even found out whether their homes have survived, let alone filled out claims. With over 2,400 homes damaged or destroyed, along with vehicles, fences, farmland and commercial forests, the final damage to private property is likely to be between $ 5—10 billion dollars. As a comparison, the damaging Queensland floods and hurricane of 2011 produced insurance claims of $3.6 billion many of them coming in weeks or months after the disaster took place. Damage to public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, electricity and water supply systems will be of a similar magnitude and the need to rebuild to a higher standard in preparation for future disasters will add greatly to the cost. The bushfires have effectively wiped out the tourist season for much of South East Australia and have dealt a huge blow to its international image as a tourist destination, worth $20 billion a year in international income. Perhaps largest of all, but impossible to measure, is the destruction of natural ecosystems. It has been estimated that 600million plus native animals have died, and whole species have almost certainly been wiped out. The results of billions of dollars spent on preserving these ecosystems have been destroyed in just a few weeks. To prevent this type of massive destruction in the future, there needs to be a fully-fledged national organization, capable of mounting a rapid response to disasters requiring evacuations, relief efforts and mobilization of large numbers of personnel. A budget of $1 billion a year (or $4 billion over the four-year budgeting period used in Australia) would be conservative at best. By the time a full accounting has been done, it would not be surprising if the cost of this disaster exceeded $ 100 billion . Austra- lia is suffering the consequences of global inaction on climate change. Sadly, our own government is among the worst in the world in this respect, both in rejecting action to reduce our own emissions and in sabotaging global negotiations. Australia's leaders must learn from this catastrophe and ensure that there is a plan for an event of this magnitude in the future — or it could cost even more next time. Yet in all of this NOT ONE WORDFROM THE GREENS !!!!!!!! Proudly supported by Wellington Shire Council. Editors: Port Albert Progress Association. All care is taken to ensure that the information provided is true and correct at the time of publication. All content provided remains the property of the writers. Submissions can be made anytime by email to: [email protected]. 1 A Port to Call Home Port Albert’s FREE Community Newsletter! Issue No 125 February 2020 2 A Port to Call Home Port Albert’s FREE Community Newsletter! Issue No 125 February 2020 ARTISTS FOR GIPPSLAND 2020 Gippsland Bushfire Appeal Auction Artists everywhere are invited to help raise funds for the 2020 Gippsland Bushfire Appeal. Gippsland Art Gallery is calling on artists to support the fire relief effort by submitting artworks for a fundraising auction. All artworks will be displayed at the Gallery from 15 February to 15 March culminating in an auction on the final day, Sunday March 15. Artists may submit as many artworks as they like (no limit) in any medium and at any size (within reason please!). All money raised will be donated to the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund (GERF) to help support those who have lost their homes and property in the devastating East Gippsland bushfires. Artworks can be dropped off at the Gallery during opening hours up until Sunday 9 February (we will begin hanging the following day). For those who would like to participate but are unable to get their artworks to the Gallery, please get in touch with us asap and we will do our best to arrange collection. Please contact Simon Gregg at the Gallery at [email protected], or phone on 03 5142 3078 or 0432 899 703 if you need your work collected or for any other information. And please spread the word! PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM AS BEST YOU CAN AND EITHER RETURN WITH YOUR ARTWORK OR EMAIL DIRECTLY TO SIMON GREGG: [email protected] Artist Name: Title of Artwork: Date of Artwork: Medium of Artwork: Donor Name (if different from artist): Donor contact details: (phone, address, email) O Please tick this box if you don’t want the donor name to be public THE BELOW FIELDS ARE OPTIONAL Credit line or acknowledgement: (ie. Courtesy of Smith Gallery) Reserve Price: Payment to Artist: (must not be higher than the reserve) Statement about the Artwork: (please keep short, not more than 40 words) WE SINCERELY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. TOGETHER WE CAN HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE LOST SO MUCH. 3 4 A Port to Call Home Port Albert’s FREE Community Newsletter! Issue No 125 February 2020 Port Albert Progress Association—Community Membership— Now Due Calling all residence and holiday owners of Port Albert—Membership to Port Albert Progress Association are now open. Like all rural communities without the support of the residence it is always difficult to have a voice with the many levels of government from Federal to State and local . A cohesive community gets things done , they are heard and the community benefits. Port Albert Progress Association is the conduit between all levels of government and through this Association the com- munity can stay informed of what is happening whether good or bad and have a voice. Major projects the Association are working on is the artistic improvement on the towns water tower , safe swimming area in Rutter Park , lighting of the anchor on the roundabout and free WIFI. A major Council initiative is to seal a number of streets in the Port Albert precinct that if completed will improve the beauty of our town not to mention the dust. The Progress Association’s other initiatives are to conduct events that the whole community can enjoy such as Australia Day in the Park , Anzac Day Dawn Service and Sausage Sizzle , Community BBQ’S , New Years Eve for Kids and Adults to enjoy , Theme Nights , Historical Cemetery Walking Tours and much more. Plus of course the monthly Port Albert Community Tattler. Nominated Community Working Group’s are the Safe Swimming Area and Water Tower Projects depicting the history and nature of Port Albert which has received community approval , however are not part of the Port Albert Progress as- sociation and run by independent community parties. The Progress Association is all voluntary with many hours given both by the executive and committee members to assist in making Port Albert a great place to live , visit or enjoy as a day trip. Strong organizations are successful because of its members and in Port Albert we have over 300 permanent residence and that again in holiday owners and would like the membership of Progress to be a solid reflection of the community. A membership of 150 plus would be a solid reflection and voice of the community. Your support would be greatly appreciated so Progress can be your voice and maintain having ongoing community events for years to come. Please join now by completing the membership form on page 6. 5 A Port to Call Home Port Albert’s FREE Community Newsletter! Issue No 125 February 2020 PORT ALBERT PROGRESS ASSOCIATION INC ABN: 54 360 879 281 APPLICATION/RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP 2020 (PLEASE PRINT) NAME: ........................................................................................................................... …………………………………………………………………………………………. ADDRESS: ................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................P/CODE: ................................... TELEPHONE NO:…….............................................................................................. EMAIL: ......................................................................................................................... MEMBERSHIP TYPE: SINGLE FAMILY Fee’s are due each 1st January $5.00 $10.00 Membership Fees can be paid by direct deposit or cheque, please circle which: Cheque enclosed Direct Deposit Please return this form completed to: [email protected] Or by post to: PO Box 7 Port Albert Vic 3971 Direct Deposit to: BSB: 633-000Acct: 162 752 075 Reference: Family Name and Initials please SIGNED: .................................................