Mayor's Column – 7 April 2022
Published on 07 April 2022
Hello to all residents, ratepayers and visitors to the Borough of Queenscliffe. There’s still plenty of buzz and life around the Borough even as we make our way through the autumn months, with the Easter long weekend just around the corner, local football and netball back underway, and numerous festivals taking place.
Kerbside food waste collection comes to the Borough
Last week, Council announced it will be introducing a new kerbside food waste collection service in a bid to make household waste collection more financially and environmentally sustainable.
Starting in August this year, we’ll be asking you to place food waste in your existing green-lidded bins, where it will be processed into compost instead of going to landfill. By composting our food and green waste, we’re avoiding expensive landfill taxes and the greenhouse gases emitted from organic matter when it’s buried in a landfill.
Every tonne of waste we don’t send to landfill is a tonne of waste we don’t have to pay the Victorian Government’s landfill tax on – and with almost 40% of our household landfill bins currently being taken up by food waste, those costs are going to add up if we don’t manage our waste more sustainably. Composting our food waste will be cheaper for us all over the long term by avoiding these landfill taxes.
Of course, we’ll be sending out lots of information and holding interactive presentations to ensure everyone is well supported through the transition. This will include benchtop kitchen caddies, larger recycling bins, and information packs. We’ll also be modifying some collection frequencies to support the rollout.
I’m excited to start processing our food waste in a way that’s better for the budget, better for the planet and better for our community, and I’m looking forward to working with you all in the coming months to make this rollout a success.
To find out more, visit queenscliffe.vic.gov.au/bins.
Spend and save at Borough businesses
A new Victorian Government announcement promoting a range of dining and entertainment experiences can allow you to get cash back on a day or night out while helping support the local businesses you love.
This Monday I gathered with traders from across Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale to celebrate the announcement of the Victorian Dining and Entertainment Program, where visitors can be eligible for rebates of up to 25 per cent on food and entertainment spending. This includes activities like dining out during the week, visiting galleries and museums, seeing a live show, or even picking up takeaway food from a small business.
There’s plenty of opportunities to take up this opportunity in the Borough as well – it might be seeing a show on the famous Blues Train, dining out at Plated Point Lonsdale, or listening to a talk at the Queenscliff Literary Festival. The program offers customers up to $125 cash back on these experiences.
I know from talking to traders that they love any extra boost to welcome people through their shop doors, especially after the challenging last couple of years we’ve all faced, so I encourage you to shop local when taking advantage of this wonderful deal.
More information about the program, including how to apply for a rebate, is available on the Victorian Government’s website at vic.gov.au/victorian-dining-and-entertainment-program.
Literary Festival program released
The Queenscliffe Literary Festival has become a major drawcard on the cultural calendar in the Borough each year, and it’s sure to be no exception in 2022 with the recent release of the full program at a launch event last week.
I was lucky enough to be present to give a speech and welcome the full house of attendees to the Town Hall, as well as sit in the audience and watch broadcaster and author Jon Faine in conversation with Robyn Annear as he discussed his new book, Apollo & Thelma.
More than 25 events and workshops are included across three jam-packed weekends in Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale, with tickets starting at just $25 per exhibition. It’s sure to be another wonderful celebration of Australian writers, books and ideas.
Council is proud to be the Principal Partner of the Queenscliffe Literary Festival. You can purchase tickets – including the always popular ‘weekend passes’ – by visiting their website at queenscliffeliteraryfestival.com.au. Some events are already sold out, so be sure to get in quick.
As always, if you have anything you’d like to discuss with me about the Borough, drop me a line via the contact details on Council’s website.
Kind regards,
Cr Ross Ebbels
Mayor, Borough of Queenscliffe