May 2011: MRRA website tops 500,000 hits 

Welcome to MRRA's website and thank you for visiting us.  MRRA is a voluntary, community organisation, established in 1995.  The MRRA website is another way in which the Association can communicate with members and Macedon Ranges' residents on issues that affect them.  Current and previous items on this site can be accessed through the main menu bar (above).  Any problems?  Email us on mrra.sec999@gmail.com 

Amendment C84 (submissions closed 10 May 2013)

Loddon Mallee South Regional Growth Plan (NOTE: time for submissions extended from 17 May to 31 May 2013)

Macedon Ranges Budget / Council Plan / Strategic Resource Plan / Vision 2013/14 (submissions close 31 May 2013)

Local Law Demolition Review (Submissions close 30 June, 2013)

Villawood / Davies Hill / Braemar / Settlement Strategy

Days To Next Council Mayoral Election:	(13?/11/13)	180
Days To Next Council Election:	(30/10/16)	1,256
Days To Next State Election:	(29/11/14)	557
"Instead of controlling the environment for the benefit of the population, maybe we should control the population to ensure the survival of our environment."  Sir David Attenborough - The Life of Mammals  I'm starting with the man in the mirror I'm asking him to change his ways, No message could have been any clearer If you wanna make the world a better place Take a look at yourself and then make the change You gotta get it right, while you got the time 'Cause when you close your heart Then you close your mind Michael Jackson/Siedah Garrett/Glen Ballard - "Man In The Mirror":  Make That Change "Dissent is what rescues democracy from a quiet death behind closed doors"  Lewis Lapham

How To Contact Your Politicians (Updated 22/12/12 - MRSC Councillors)  See also Links

Council Meeting Dates (Updated 9/4/13 - C)  July 2012 - June 2013    See also July 2013 - June 2014

RED ALERTS

Breaking News, Action Required   See also Events Calendar (below) 

NEW  UPDATE  TIME FOR LODDON MALLEE SOUTH REGIONAL GROWTH PLANS EXTENDED UNTIL 31 MAY

(21/5/13 - RA-P)  Make a submission - this Plan isn't the community's idea of where Macedon Ranges Shire should be in future. More...

NEW  Wooo...  Crs. Sally Piper And Jennifer Anderson Go For it With Notices Of Motion For Tonight's Council Meeting At Gisborne

(21/5/13-RA-C)  But why do they even need to ask?  More...

NEW  Action Required  Getting Riddell Right Website Now Up And Running www.riddell.org.au

(21/5/13 -RA-CC)   GRR kicks off fund-raising for VCAT supermarket case with "Supper and Songs" dinner on 29 June  More...

CURRENT Action Required  Macedon Ranges' Local Law Is Being 'Reviewed', On Exhibition Until June 30

(6/5/13 - RA- C)  Uh-oh. What are they up to now?  More...

CURRENT BIG ACTION REQUIRED  Council Plan, Budget, Strategic Resource Plan, Councillor Allowances and Land Sales Are On Exhibition:  If You Are Happy With $10 - $14 Million Debt, 7% Rate Increases, Executive Decision-Making And A New Shire "Vision" You Weren't Consulted About, Do Nothing.

(6/5/13 - RA - C)  Somewhere in the dark corners of Council, someone's making decisions that spiral rates and debt, make the Shire a population and economic growth centre, and implement the draft Loddon Mallee South Regional Growth Plan - without telling us. Be Alarmed.  Submissions close Midday on May 31  More...

CURRENT Action Required  Draft Riddells Creek Structure Plan & Character Study On Exhibition Until 31 May & 'Drop In' Session 20 May

(6/5/13 - RA - P)  Have your say, Riddells Creek, and say it plainly  More...

CURRENT Action Required  Council Stabs The Woodend Structure Plan - And Community - In The Back

(23/4/13-RA-P)  As someone pointed out at the 18 April meeting, the Woodend community isn't stupid, don't treat it as if it is...  Comments on the Discussion Paper can be made until 30 April / Community meeting 29 April  More...

CURRENT URGENT Action  Required Loddon Mallee South Regional GROWTH Plan Is On Exhibition Until May 17 (see also 21/5/13, above)

(23/4/13-RA-P)  Yes, Loddon Mallee South does include Macedon Ranges, but not a word of it being a special place to be protected  More...

CURRENT Hanging Rock:  Not For Sale

(23/4/13-RA-C)  Why is an internationally significant icon, and a nature reserve, being treated as commercial land?   More...

CURRENT Riddells Creek Supermarket:  'Getting Riddell Right' Becomes Getting Riddell Right Inc - Now An Incorporated Association

(23/4/13-RA-P)  Great stuff - community spirit everywhere and fundraising is underway as the vast Riddells Creek supermarket/shops development goes to VCAT  More...

CURRENT How, And  Why, Was The Riddells Creek Supermarket Rescission Motion Refused?

(23/4/13-RA-P)  Is Council picking and choosing process to favour some over others?  Is there even a "process" for rescission motions in Macedon Ranges anymore?  More...

CURRENT Council Spends OUR Money Changing OUR Website Then Tells Us About It After The Fact

(23/4/13-RA-C)  Official records removed, Shire logo and website content changed: was there any point at which Council thought the community should be consulted? More...

CURRENT Council Meeting Dates 2013 / 2014:  More Than The Dates Have Changed!!

(9/4/13-RA-C)  Can anyone remember when WE agreed to almost all Council meetings being held in Gisborne?  More...

CURRENT  Kyneton Mechanics Institute: Refurbishment Cost Overruns Approved By Council

(7/10/11 - C)  It's not just cost over-runs, but what's being paid for, and how it's approved, that is of concern  More...

CURRENT  Gisborne AAMI Call Centre:  FOI Reveals State Govt's Pivotal Role In 'Making It Happen'

(14/11/10 - P)  No honour, no transparency, no process, no democracy - in fact, no stone left unturned to get approval  More...

ALERT   Who Is Behind The Massive Development Push At Woodend's Iconic Golf Course Hill?

(17/4/07 - P)  MRRA looks at who is behind Davies Hill Pty Ltd - the company selling land to Braemar and no doubt looking in future to rezone the current Farming zone to clear the way for massive residential development.  It turns out that Woodend local lawyer Mr. HEP (Chinka) Steel, and local development consultant Paul Tomkinson are major players...  More...   Click here to see MRRA's archive on Golf Course Hill

BULLETIN BOARD

Humour

EVENTS CALENDAR

NEW (9/4/13)  Council Meeting Dates For July 2013 to June 2014  More...

CURRENT Action Required  Landcare Events

(23/4/13-EV-E)  Amazing things to do and get involved in, from planting trees for Mum to Landcare Awards and Community Grants.  Go for it!  More...

ON-GOING Woodend Landcare

(21/8/12 - CC)  GET INVOLVED! EVERY THURSDAY!  More...

SAY NO TO SUBURBIA CAMPAIGN

See 2010 Election Result:  Baillieu Government gives Macedon Ranges State Level Protection (14/12/10)

See MRRA Media Release

See Say No To Suburbia Noticeboard

See also "Keep Macedon Ranges Rural" archive

CURRENT  MRRA Meets With Minister For Planning, Matthew Guy, June 22

(17/8/11 - SP)  Statement of Planning Policy No. 8 to be State policy by end of 2011 More...

CURRENT State Government Sets Up Peri Urban Planning Unit Within Department

(13/4/11- P)  First step towards making State Protection a reality for Macedon Ranges  More...

CURRENT  Council's Settlement Strategy: Submissions Extended Until End Of January 2011

(23/12/10 - P)  There's still time to tell them to do it again...  More...

CURRENT  Macedon Ranges' Settlement Strategy Out For Consultation Until December 17th

(14/11/10 - P)   Don't be fooled into thinking this is either about, or good for, Macedon Ranges.  And once again, all we are getting is over 477 pages of information, and crap consultation processes, just before Christmas.  Now that's usually a sign something's wrong... More...

CURRENT  'Committee For Melbourne' Thinks Macedon Ranges Is The Place For A Suburb

(14/11/10 - P)  CFM aspires to include Gisborne and Riddells Creek (and Macedon) into the Metro area  More...

CURRENT State (Labor) Govt's Regional Strategic Plan Puts Growth Agenda In Place For Macedon Ranges: Council Endorses Plan Without Community Consultation

(13/8/10 - P)  That puts around another 20,000 people and 7,000 houses in the Shire by 2036.  And the State Labor government's VC66 amendment has already been put in place (also sans consultation) to implement it.  Hello suburbia!  More...

CURRENT MR Settlement Strategy: Is Macedon Ranges Making The Decisions, Or The State (Labor) Government?

(29/6/10 - P)  Meagre consultation, shabby process, a whiff of State government agenda and heaps of population growth should be ringing LOUD alarm bells  More... 

Urban Growth Boundary Changes

MRRA  MEMBERSHIP & MEMBERS' FORUM

Note: Access is available to Members through Members' Forum

CURRENT MRRA Submission On Metropolitan Strategy Discussion Paper (The New Melbourne 2030)

(23/4/13-RA-P)  It's a big document with many parts, but it's a worry when how Macedon Ranges will be protected isn't clear at all, we are told we must 'move away from regulation', pr

iorityis given to economics, and there is to be a new process to 'facilitate' creative and innovative investment projects - even when it isn't allowed by a planning scheme.  Click here. 

CURRENT  MRRA Is Back

(30/6/11)  MRRA website back after Distribute IT hacking attack  More...

CURRENT  MRRA Submission - President's VCAT Review Consultation Paper

(13/7/09 - P) Please, go back to planning, get the lawyers out of it, and start healing rock-bottom public confidence  More...

CURRENT  MRRA Submission On Environmental Regulations

(30/5/09 - SG)  We say, think about tomorrow, not just today More...

CURRENT  MRRA Submission On New State Residential Zones

(30/5/09 - P)  Association stands up for rural areas  More...

FEATURES

"From the Vision Splendid to The Vision Sullied"

(25/6/05 - SP) A suburban, industrialized future for Macedon Ranges, home of Australian icons, Mount Macedon and Hanging Rock  More...

The Urban Conversion:  'Victoria In Future' Growth Projections and The Hidden Agenda For A Suburban Macedon Ranges

(29/4/05 - SP)  If you've been wondering why the State government hasn't delivered its seven year old promise to protect Macedon Ranges Shire, wonder no more.  More...

COMMUNITY CLIPBOARD

Clipboard

CURRENT Action Required  Reminder From Planning Backlash

(2/4/09 - P)  Are you looking at www.marvellousmelbourne.org?  More....

Community Groups In The Spotlight

Bendigo and District Environment Council Inc (BDEC) (26/4/05 - CC) More...

Bendigo Bushlinks  (26/4/05 - CC)  More...

Central Coast (NSW)

(10/6/06 - CCG) Central Coast SOS Save Our Suburbs  More...

Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network (19/11/08 - CC) More...

Macedon Ranges Landscape Guardians & Victorian Landscape Guardians (7/8/05 - CCG) More...

Melbourne 2030 Portal

(1/4/06 - CCG)  A Community Resource   More...

Planning Backlash

(2/3/10 - CCG)  Planning Backlash is an "umbrella" for co-ordinated action by a wide range of groups across city, country and coast concerned with inappropriate planning in Victoria. www.marvellousmelbourne.org

Point Lonsdale Civic Association (10/3/06 - CCG) More...

Save Our Suburbs (NSW) (10/6/06 - CCG) More...

Southern Peninsula Rural Protection Group [SPRPG]

(21/10/06 - CCG) More people wanting to keep rural land RURAL, this time in Mornington Peninsula More...

Sunbury Conservation Society (31/1/06 - CCG) More...

Sunshine Residents and Ratepayers Association (21/6/09 - CCG) More...

Sustainable Population Australia (Victoria) [SPA]

(12/9/06 - CCG)  SPA asks: Can Australia afford to just keep going on the growth spiral? More...

Victorian Coastal Alliance [VCA]

(7/9/07 - CCG)  An alliance of community groups formed to protect Victoria's coastline. UPDATE 24/4/09 Latest Description and Objectives More...

Victorian Landscape Guardians (VLG) Give An Insight Into What They Stand For

(3/7/06 - E)  "The landscape is a finite resource.  There is no more of it.   Things which are finite deserve our ultimate respect and we should do all in our power to protect them for future generations."   Randall Bell, President, Victorian Landscape Guardians. More...

Watershed (previously Your Water, Your Say) First Newsletter

(17/9/07 - CCG)  Addresses processes (or lack of them) surrounding the proposed desalination plant on the Bass Coast  More...

Political comment on this website relating to elections is authorized by Louise Whitefield, Macedon Ranges Residents' Association Inc., 2 Dalrymple Road, Gisborne, 3437.

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