Registrations are now open for the 2016 MAV Environment Conference. The conference is being held at Melbourne Park on 12 and 13 July. The theme for the conference is “Living and leading in a warming world.” Confirmed speakers include:

• Rob Gell, Geographer, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Inaugural Fellow of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand
• Jenny Gray, CEO, Zoos Victoria
• Dr Gillian Sparkes, Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability Victoria
• Darren Sharp, Social Surplus
• Dr Catherine Ball, Telstra’s Queensland Business Woman of the Year
• Anthony Boxshall, EPA
• Liam Smith, BehaviourWorks Australia.

The full program will be released shortly.

MAV environment-related submissions

The MAV hosted a number of consultation sessions for councils in April, including sessions on the Water for Victoria discussion paper, the draft biodiversity strategy, the review of the native vegetation regulations, the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act review, the new Marine and Coastal Act, and the Port Phillip Bay Environmental Management Plan.

The MAV is finalising its submissions in response to the Victorian Government’s draft biodiversity strategy, Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036, and the draft water plan, Water for Victoria. Both submissions will be lodged by COB Friday, 13 May. Thank you to those councils who provided feedback to the MAV draft submissions. The MAV’s submission in response to the Review of the Native Vegetation Clearing Regulations is available on the MAV website.

DELWP Climate Change Adaptation workshops

Under the Climate Change Act 2010, the Minister for Climate Change is required to prepare Victoria’s second Climate Change Adaptation Plan by 31 December 2016.

In order to better understand climate change adaptation issues specific to metropolitan councils, DELWP is running a number of workshops on 31 May, 1 June and 2 June.

DELWP is keen to engage with council sustainability and environment officers, statutory and strategic planners, and infrastructure managers to hear about climate change adaptation challenges, barriers, opportunities and priorities.

The workshops will be independently facilitated by Loop and Company. Further information about the workshops is available here.

Registrations close 20 May 2016.

Details regarding DELWP engagement with regional councils will be released shortly. All queries should be directed to climate.change@delwp.vic.gov.au.

Port Phillip Bay Fund

In late March the State Government announced a new $10 million fund to protect and preserve the health of Port Phillip Bay.

The Port Phillip Bay Fund will be financed by proceeds of the Port of Melbourne lease. The $10 million will be made available via a competitive grants process to be administered by DELWP over four years. The State has indicated that there will be a requirement for 1:1 matched funding, either cash or in-kind.

The MAV is a member of the stakeholder reference group established by DELWP to advise them on the scope of the grants program. Other stakeholder reference group members include the Association of Bayside Municipalities (ABM), Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water, the EPA and the Victorian Coastal Council.

A ‘Call to Action’ on waste tyres

Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), the not-for-profit company established to deliver the National Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme, is calling on all councils to join the Scheme and make the commitment to the responsible management of end-of-life tyres.

Some 51 million EPUs (equivalent passenger units) of waste tyres are generated every year in Australia with local government often negatively impacted from illegal dumping, burning and stockpiling of this material.

The Scheme has been established to promote the sustainable management of end-of-life tyres, to support the development of the domestic tyre recycling industry and to remove poor operators from the market.

TSA is fully funded by the tyre industry and is completely free for local councils who wish to take part. For further information, contact Matt Genever.

Tidy Towns-Sustainable Communities Awards 2016

The Keep Victoria Beautiful (KVB) Tidy Towns – Sustainable Communities Awards recognise and celebrate positive actions taken by communities in regional areas to protect and enhance their local environments.

They reward initiatives as diverse as litter prevention, recycling, protection of the environment, preserving heritage, community action and leadership, and environmental sustainability programs.

The closing date for entries has been extended until 11:59pm 20 May 2016.

The Sustainable Cities Awards will be held on 15th July at the State Library. Contact KVB for further details.

Heads up

Based on recent discussions with the State, we anticipate the following papers to be released shortly:

• EPA Inquiry report – May
• Climate Change Act review – Government response - May
• Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act review discussion paper – June/July
• Marine and Coastal Act consultation paper – June/July
• Port Phillip Bay Environmental Management Plan – June/July