Ross Earl, General Manager of Bourke Shire Council, writes on Far West issues.
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Councils in the West are still unclear of the structure that will be adopted for those in the Planning Department’s Far West region.
Councils currently within the Far Western region are not included in the proposal to establish voluntary Joint Organisations of Councils (JOs) and, as such, these councils will not be able to form a JO or JOs at this stage.
However, each of the eight councils at Balranald, Bourke, Brewarrina, Central Darling, Cobar, Walgett Wentworth shires and Broken Hill will still be able to become associate members of any JO which may be established in another planning region. The councils in the Far West region together with the Unincorporated Area had been earmarked to be part of a proposed Far West Initiative (FWI) but despite some intensive consultation and numerous calls for and subsequent lodgement of submissions there has been little development of the concept from a local government perspective.
The legislation in regard to the establishment of the JOs will apparently be presented to the sittings of Parliament to be held over the next two weeks.
Containers. Information on the introduction of the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) or “Return and Earn” as it will be known is starting to trickle through and with the scheme supposed to be operational on December 1 much more information is expected to be provided over the next few weeks.
TOMRA Cleanaway has been appointed the network operator and will be responsible for the overall administration of the project.
Bourke has been identified as a remote area collection point. Such points will be open at least 16 hours over a fortnight, including at least eight hours on the weekend in the fortnight. At this stage it is not known who will be coordinating the Bourke collection point. Any organisation can apply to be a collection point operator. It is up to TOMRA Cleanaway to determine where to locate points and who to contract to operate a collection point. To register interest in running a point, visit http://www.tcnsw.com.au/ and fill out the online form.
It is important to note that you should not crush containers prior to redeeming your refund.
Containers, should be empty, uncrushed, unbroken and with the original label attached.
Containers must be verified as eligible to receive the refund.
For further information about Return and Earn visit www.epa.nsw.gov.au or www.returnandearn.org.
It should be noted the council is supportive of the CDS but has no direct involvement in the operation of the scheme and is relaying information provided by both EPA and TOMRA Cleanaway.