Community reps join Goulburn Mulwaree Council sustainability committee

Their job will be to give greater focus to sustainability in the council's policies and strategies.

READ MORE:

Goulburn Mulwaree Council calls on community to join sustainability group

"A chance for council to lead" as sustainability recommendations presented to Goulburn Mulwaree Council

Richard Ernst, Roger Grice, Danielle Marsden-Ballard, Michael Michelmore, Sonya Reyes, Ray Shiel and Nathan Smith were appointed to the Sustainability Advisory Committee following an expression of interest process.

Councillors signed off on the appointments at their meeting on Tuesday.

Cr Steve Ruddell praised the wide variety of skills on the committee.

The issue is close to Mr Shiel's heart.

He helped establish the Goulburn wetlands, devoted many years to Landcare, the Goulburn community garden and the Argyle Garden Club, among other organisations. In 2013 Mr Shiel was named Goulburn's citizen of the year for his volunteer work. He also has a background in business, farming, construction and sales.

"I'm very happy to be selected for the sustainability committee because there's a lot of work to be done," he said.

ALSO READ: Father of premature baby runs 110km to help save more lives

"...The whole purpose of the committee is to make it local and look at what we can do to improve the future. We are getting climate extremes and it's already affecting our lifestyle so (it's about) what we can do to slow or reverse the bad things that are happening."

Mr Shiel said Goulburn had "at least" 29 green areas that could be improved. This work had already started around the rivers but he believed other spaces were not being realised to their full potential

He also saw "phenomenal potential" for more renewable energy and its job creation possibilities. Mr Shiel cited housing design and energy usage among the major issues.

ALSO READ: The only 'mandate' at blues artist Owen Campbell's shows is to dance

Other members are:

Richard Ernst - works in the finance sector with a focus on sustainability. He is also a member of the Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership.

Danielle Marsden-Ballard - social ecologist with 50 years' experience and knowledge in the field. She is also a former council Sustainability Working Party member and founding member of Friends of Goulburn Swamplands. Ms Marsden-Ballard has also worked on government policy and programs in this field and on Regional State of the Environment reports.

Michael Michelmore - recently retired from Department of Primary Industries where he spent 38 years advising councils, state governments, Local Land Services and landholders on agriculture and weed and vertebrae pest management.

Nathan Smith - certified passive house designer who has a passion for sustainability and energy conservation and natural resource management.

Roger Grice - former council Sustainability Working Party member, retired electrical engineer and member of Southern Tablelands chapter of the Australian Conservation Foundation and Community Voice for Hume.

The community members will join Cr Jason Shepherd and council staff on the committee.

Its formation follows the winding up of a council Sustainability Working Party. That group, chaired by former councillor, Sam Rowland, made a long list of recommendations for the council to act upon.

They include recruitment of a permanent sustainability education officer, more electric vehicle charging stations, more detailed research on climate impacts and harnessing community groups' work.

Cr Shepherd said he was looking forward to working with an "amazing selection" of community members.

"We are past debate about climate change," he said.

"The purpose now is sustainability and to focus on actionable things...We've come a long way since the working party and we've already implemented a lot of things but this whole area of sustainability has ramped up."

ALSO READ: Community reps take swipe at waste company over EPA breach notice

He cited the need to design more sustainable homes, a greater focus on regenerative farming and more wetlands as some areas for investigation.

Cr Shepherd declared an interest in the item when it arose at Tuesday's meeting as Ms Marsden-Ballard and Mr Smith ran on his Labor ticket at the December council election. He left the room during discussion.

Do you have something to say about this issue? Send a letter to the editor. Click here for the Goulburn Post

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: