Sept update

Alice Springs Town Council is currently looking at many projects with long term implications for the town.

We have had several meetings regarding the $5M CBD redevelopment, looking at ways to link the town in a more environmentally friendly way. This includes walkways and cycleways linking the three hills - Annie Meyers Hill, Anzac Hill and Billy Goat Hill. We hope to have more emphasis on the Desert Park and Olive Pink Botanical Gardens and also on turning the town focus more towards the Todd River and surrounding Ranges than looking centrally into the Mall.

The Environment Advisory Committee (EAC) of which I am chair met for the first time and we discussed a range of topics including Waste Management at the Landfill, Cycling Infrastructure, Solar Cities, Recycling and the Local Action Plan for Climate Change. The Local Action Plan (LAP) was created a few years ago as Milestone 3 under the Cities for Climate Protection scheme. We are now heading for Milestone 4 which is implementation of the plan. In the first instance the EAC has asked Council and Power And Water to provide analysis of the original Greenhouse Gas Emisions data so we can have meaningful measurement of the impact of our actions. There are 17 members on the committee all with expertise in various areas of environment and environmental management so I look forward to good things in both the long and short term.

The Corporate and Community Services Committee (CCS) which I also chair has met on a range of issues including Animal Management By-laws where we advocate for much higher penalties for dog attack but also where we have allocated neighbourhood parks where owners may let their dogs off the leash between 5-8am and 5-8pm. Hopefully we will have attained a good balance of policies to ensure responsible pet ownership in harmony with the community.

Also, I launched the Chlamydia Awareness Campaign "Safe Sex. No Regrets" which is very important in the NT where our rate of STI's is nearing 4 times that of the rest of Australia. This campaign is aimed at youth. I also launched the legal graffiti wall at ANZAC Hill High School. Kieron Wilson, graffiti artist from Brisbane conducted workshops for a week and the culmination is a legal wall for graffiti artists.

If you would like to know more about council or have an issue which concerns you, contact me by email jane@nt.greens.org.au or phone 0417864935