Memo from Mayo 22 November 2019

22 Nov 2019

$7.3M to future-proof orchards in Mayo

Welcome to my latest edition of Memo from Mayo where I have some exciting news. Today Centre Alliance can announce that we have successfully negotiated a $7.3 million scheme to help apple, pear and cherry growers in Mayo future-proof their orchards with environmental covers. The dollar-for-dollar scheme will allow orchardists to apply for up to $300,000 in funding to offset the cost of netting. We believe this will help our growers manage a changing climate and recover from two successive seasons of severe hailstorms. The funding is part of a $14.6 million trial for orchard netting across South Australia. In the feature photo I am pictured with Hills apple growers Susie Green, left, Matthew Flavell and Jody Schultz at a netted Ceravolo Orchard at Nairne prior to the Apple & Pear Growers Association of SA annual meeting last month. You can read more here.

In other news, I am hosting grant writing workshops in January next year. And so far this spring we have hosted five successful NBN information sessions and three bowel cancer awareness sessions with the Jodi Lee Foundation with media personality Graeme Goodings. The first nine of 20 grants selected for the electorate under the Stronger Communities Program have been announced and Round 4 of the Building Better Regions Fund is now open. Please read on to find out more.

Grant writing workshops

Photo: Rebekha is pictured at a previous grant writing workshop with guest speaker and Tailem Bend Community Centre Co-ordinator Tammy Shepherd.

Rebekha is hosting a series of grant writing workshops at Port Elliot, Stirling and McLaren Vale in late January 2020.

The workshops will feature guest presenters from different sectors including community services, sports and recreation and veterans' affairs.

“These events are about building the grant writing capacity in our community so we can source the funds we need for projects,” Rebekha said.

Positions are limited so please RSVP here.

Stronger Communities Program

Photo: Rebekha is pictured with members of the Willunga Bowling Club which has secured a Stronger Communities Program grant.

Rebekha has welcomed the announcement of the first nine of 20 grants selected for the electorate under the Stronger Communities Program.

The successful applicants announced in Mayo to date include:

  • The Aldinga Bay Bowling Club which received $8,380 for new mowing equipment.
  • The Mylor Citizens Friendship Club which received $8,500 to install airconditioning.
  • The Callington Recreation Park which received $6,685 to purchase an electronic scoreboard for football and cricket matches.
  • The Willunga Bowling Club which received $5,696 for shade structures.
  • The Aldinga Bay Surf Life Saving Club which received $5,542 to set up a “pop-up kitchen” for the summer while their storm-damaged clubrooms are being replaced.
  • The Mount Barker Tennis Club which received $5,000 to build an undercover area.
  • The Yankalilla Hockey Club which received $4,000 to install solar panels.
  • The Parawa Progress Association which received $2,637 to install airconditioning.
  • The Houghton Districts Football Club which received $2,500 to upgrade canteen facilities.

The remaining 11 grants will be announced in the coming months.

Communities Environment Program

Rebekha has also welcomed the announcement of the first four of 15 grants selected for the electorate under the Communities Environment Program.

The successful applicants announced in Mayo to date include;

  • Conservation Volunteers Australia which received $16,000 to restore 8,000 habitat trees for endangered glossy black cockatoos at Wirrina near the Reservoir
  • The Prospect Hill Bushland Group (under the umbrella of the Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association) which received $19,800 to plant and nurture 3,000 trees along Bull Creek Range south of Meadows
  • The Friends of Nuraggi which received $2,500 for native vegetation protection and the installation of walking stiles along Nurragi Conservation Reserve between Milang and the Victor Harbor railway
  • Friends of Aldinga Scrub which received $4,600 to remove bridal creeper weed from the Aldinga Scrub Conservation Park.

The remaining 11 grants will be announced in the coming months.

Scam awareness session

Photo: Rebekha, left, Senior Constable Libby Bruce from the Hills Fleurieu Police Crime Prevention Section, Centre Alliance Senator Stirling Griff, NBN Co Local Manager SA and NT Kym Morgan, National Australia Bank Victor Harbor Branch Manager Samantha Thomas and General Manager SA Telstra Regional Australia Mark Bolton were guest speakers at a scam awareness presentation.

Nearly 50 people attended a scam awareness presentation hosted by Rebekha and her Centre Alliance colleague Senator Stirling Griff.

Other guest speakers included NBN Co Local Manager SA and NT Kym Morgan, General Manager SA Telstra Regional Australia Mark Bolton, National Australia Bank Victor Harbor Branch Manager Samantha Thomas and Senior Constable Libby Bruce from the Hills Fleurieu Police Crime Prevention Section.

Rebekha instigated the presentation in response to community concerns about the scale of scam calls including NBN scam calls, on the South Coast.

You can read more here.

When Federal Parliament returns next week Sentator Griff will be introducing a Private Member's Bill to curtail scam calls from charities.

Jodi Lee Foundation

Photo: Jodi Lee Foundation representative Kathryn Quintel, left, is pictured with media personality Graeme Goodings and Rebekha.

Rebekha and the Jodi Lee Foundation hosted bowel cancer awareness presentations in Aldinga, Victor Harbor and Littlehampton earlier this month.

The guest speaker was media personality Graeme Goodings who gave an entertaining account of how a dodgy yiros and a gastro-disturbance led to a timely cancer diagnosis.

For more informtion about the Jodi Lee Foundation click here.

Drought regions declared

Image: Bureau of Meteorology rainfall percentile 1 January 2017 to 30 September 2019

Rebekha says the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of a $1 million funding injection for the Kangaroo Island Council as part of the Government’s latest suite of drought-assistance measures will be a boost for farmers doing it tough on KI.

“Just how tough some KI farmers are finding it, especially on the eastern end of the Island after recent poor seasons, was brought home to me at the Kingscote Show last month when locals stopped to talk to me about their personal circumstances,” Rebekha said.

“It prompted me to investigate the Bureau of Meteorology rainfall percentile figures for the Island, and the rest of Mayo, and to write to the Minister for Water Resources and Drought David Littleproud to plead the case for our region.

“We’ve all seen the pictures of record-breaking drought conditions in the eastern states so it can be easy to overlook what is happening in our own backyard.

“However, when we look at the Bureau of Meteorology’s (BoM) 33-month rainfall deficiency map between January 2017 and September 2019, it’s quite clear that the greater majority of Kangaroo Island has been in ‘serious deficiency’ or ‘severe deficiency’."

The only other local government area to be declared under the Australian Government’s Drought Communities Programme is Alexandrina Council which was announced during the 2019 election campaign.

The declarations will have an impact on communities applying for grants under Round 4 of the Building Better Regions Fund.The BBRF is good source of grant funding for regional Australia. However, under Round 4 applicants will be asked if their projects will be delivered in a drought-affected region, and they have to provide evidence.
This evidence could include:

  • projects located in a local government area that is eligible for the Australian Government’s Drought Communities Programme, for example Alexandrina and Kangaroo Island Councils
  • projects located in a locality drought-declared by the relevant state or territory government
  • official Bureau of Meteorology rainfall data indicating an extended period without or significant decline in rainfall
  • demonstrated impact of economic and/or employment decline as a result of drought.

More details here.

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