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10 September 2021


It's good to be able to share news about Council & the community with you again this month. 


💲A rebate for reusables 

I am so excited to have secured funding for rebates for reusable menstrual products and nappies.

Using reusable products is good for girls and women. And it's good for reducing landfill. 

If you'd like to claim a rebate for reusable period pants, nappies or menstrual cups that you have purchased, you can get up to $150 back.

All the details are here. But be quick: this program is REALLY popular and will close soon.

🔆  How much could your family save with solar panels? 

Curious about whether solar panels would work on your house? Now there's an easy way that you can find out (free) how much they would save on your electricity bills.

Council has subscribed to SunSpot - a program you can use to find out things like:

  • how many panels would fit on your roof
  • how much electricity you might be able to generate
  • how much a system would likely cost.

SunSPoT is a not-for-profit resource designed to help home owners understand the benefits and costs of installing solar panels.

I tested SunSpot and it's very easy to use. Go to SunSpot and click CHECK MY ROOF. Your data is not shared with any solar companies.

I'm very focussed on opportunities for residents and businesses in our area to save money and generate jobs from the shift to renewables. I hope you find this tool useful.

 

🚗   Recycled roads 

Excited to say that Council will be teaming up with 14 other councils to use recycled glass instead of natural sand in roads and footpaths. While most glass is recycled into new bottles, glass that can't be reused will now be crushed and turned into a coarse sand. 

The program is expected to recycle the equivalent of 80 million glass bottles back into roads every year. Other benefits include: 

  • driving the local market for recycled glass 
  • reducing greenhouse emissions the equivalent of planting 14,000 trees a year 
  • helping councils keep costs down.  
Waste is a resource that we can use to create new industries and businesses. Council should be using its purchasing power to support the Australian recycling industry. This is a great start ♻️

💡  Clean, green - and cheaper 

I’ve had another win for clean energy, more jobs and cheaper power.

Hornsby Council will now be writing to the PM and the Energy Minister “urging them to take ambitious 2030 and 2050 targets to the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in November 2021 to modernise Australian industry and create jobs”.

My Motion also thanked Matt Kean MP for his leadership in substantially increasing renewable generation, ongoing jobs in regional areas of the state and grid stability for NSW as coal is phased out.

Making sure Council is doing all it can to support new opportunities in clean energy and green jobs is a priority for me 🛠⚙️ 

 

⚽  Where have the goalposts gone? 

⚽️🏏🏈 A resident in Cherrybrook recently contacted me about the removal of soccer goals at Greenway Park. Why did Council remove them when lots of families and kids are using them during lockdown?

At this time of year, Council staff start installing or removing the goal posts because most of the grounds are multi-use. Ovals are generally used for football in the winter season and cricket in summer. Most summer sports groups are hoping that the ground will be good to go for the summer season.

Preparations for season changeover means aerating, levelling, weed removal, fertilizing and re-turfing the sportfields. Across the Hornsby LGA there are thirty-eight pairs of goal posts to be removed, nine natural turf cricket wickets to be uncovered, and nine synthetic wicket covers to be prepared.

With residents using sports grounds throughout the day during lockdown, some people have really enjoyed and wanted to retain access to the winter season sports goals. But hopefully the information above makes it a bit clearer why staff need this time to allow the living grass surfaces to recover and grow.

Just keep your fingers crossed that we get a proper summer of sport in 2021 🤞

🔐  The facts: security, banking & climate 

I'm currently reading two publications coordinated by Ian Dunlop, a local resident with a profound understanding of international corporations, the fossil fuel industry and climate threat. 

Ian was a senior executive in the oil, gas and coal industry, and Chair of the Australian Coal Association from 1987-88. He is powerful advocate for climate action. 

Ian writes for Breakthrough, a think tank on climate leadership. Breakthrough has just released two new reports: Degrees of Risk - can the banking system survive climate warming of 3oC ? aimed at the finance market regulators here and internationally. It was launched last month and is explained here.   
 
Missing in Action – Responding to Australia’s Climate & Security Failure was released last week and is the first report of the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group. 

I recommend both reports for an important perspective on Australia's vulnerabilities to economic as well as physical climate impacts.

💬   Have your say

There are a huge number of Council plans on exhibition right now. Click on the projects below to find out more and provide your feedback.

And before I go, a little wombat news ...

This week I got the chance to see video footage of a big, healthy adult wombat emerging from his burrow at dusk near Maroota. With the odd koala sighted locally, and possibly platypus too, this really is an amazing part of Sydney to live in! 

Like all of us, I'm looking forward to being able to get out with friends and family and enjoy it properly ... SOON! 

Stay safe & well (and get vaccinated!) 
Emma  
🌞

Contact me directly: emma.heyde@gmail.com | 0403 589 722 | @EmmaHeydeHornsby