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BILL Thomas has been a teacher at Bentleigh Secondary College since1985 and sees “working with young people as an enormous privilege”.

He says the wise use of precious resources requires “learned skills mandatory for the wellbeing of the planet”.

After discovering that the college was a significant water user, Mr Thomas took on the role as head of sustainable practices and began implementing a number of water saving initiatives.

His efforts cut water use by more than 93 per cent in four years.

Mr Thomas led the development of a wetlands precinct, an urban forest and the installation of infrastructure to harvest two million litres of rainwater a year for toilet flushing and on the garden.

Other energy saving initiatives included the addition of a 5.25kw solar panel system which has so far generated 23,600 kilowatt hours and saved his school 30,300kg of carbon emissions.

Continued Back Page

A sustainable lifeBill Thomas finds comfort in an urban forest.

By Keith Platt

BAYSIDE Council has adopted a $100 million budget for the coming year, collecting an extra $3.4m, or 5.5 per cent, from rates and charges.

The total being collected from property owners through rates and waste charges (up 17 per cent) is just over $72m.

The mayor Cr Louise Cooper-Shaw has described the budget as a “blueprint for a better Bayside”.

The 55-page budget papers fore-cast that property owners paying $1620 rates in 2012 can expect their rate bill to be $2084 in 2017.

Council employee costs of $34.153 million are the biggest sin-gle expense in this year’s budget.

External contracts come in second at $23.886m, followed by materials and service $18.744m and “new ini-tiatives” $2.615m.

The $1.12m “borrowing” costs will cover interest and costs of raising a $1m loan while repaying $1.5m to reduce debt to $16m.

Council says future loans will be for “one off” or new capital works “rather than expenses that require an ongoing revenue stream such as the replacement of existing infrastruc-ture”.

The federal government’s carbon tax is being blamed for $500,000 of expenditure.

Other expenses include $340,000 for the October council elections with $41,000 for induction and training of the new council.

Measures to combat cyber crime will cost $35,000, much less than the $63,000 set aside for seaweed removal.

Most of the $18.4m capital works program ($11.6m) is devoted to re-placing and fixing ageing infrastruc-ture such as roads, drains, footpaths and council buildings.

The budget papers put annual as-set depreciation at $12m “meaning the Bayside community is using up its asset base by approximately $12.0 million each year. To ensure sustainability, council needs to gen-erate this amount of funds to support the capital projects program”.

Council expects to collect $2.478m in fines, mainly from ille-gal parking, local law infringements and its libraries.

Cr Cooper-Shaw said the rates

Budget is a ‘blueprint’

increase was “consistent with coun-cil’s long term financial plan”.

The 17 per cent rise in waste charg-es “includes the cost flow-through of the carbon price on waste, an increase in state government landfill levy, and an increase in waste management service delivery”.

Cr Cooper-Shaw said the budget was “a responsible financial plan to meet community expectations”.

Bayside was “one of the lower spending councils among its neigh-bours”.

Council lists “key features” of the budget as:n $5 million for upgrading and renewal of Bayside’s local road and bicycle network.n $8.5 million to enhance and protect Bayside’s open space and recreational reserves.n $550,000 to “upgrade” kindergar-

tens at Highett, Hampton, Beau-maris, Grange Rd and Olympic Av.n $500,000 to plan a “vibrant future” for town and village centres.

Properties are being rated on their January values.

“Bayside rates are based on the value of a property relative to the value of other properties in Bay-side,” a council news release stated. “By law, all properties are re-valued every two years and the results are verified by the Valuer General.

“As this is a revaluation year, the impact on individual rates will vary depending on the current valuation of the property assessed earlier this year, relative to changes in value of other properties within Bayside.”

Cr Cooper-Shaw: “In order to fi-nance our commitments, council has worked hard to minimise this year’s rate rise in the face of mounting cost pressures passed on by state and federal governments including the impact of the carbon price and an increase in the waste landfill levy.”

The 2012/2013 budget is on coun-cil’s website: www.bayside.vic.gov.au

Measures to combat cyber crime: $35,000Seaweed removal: $63,000

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AT the start of this month Greg Al-len, right, was packing up his paints and easel at his Highett home and studio ready for the sea and land-scapes of the Mornington Peninsula.

The artist wanted to head south for inspiration and to create works for a major exhibition at the end of this month, July.

“I need to be productive in a to-tally dedicated way,” he said.

If satisfied with his output, Allen will show the results of his time on the peninsula at the 94th annual ex-hibition being held by the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society.

A professional artist since he was 23, Allen is grateful for Australia’s high standard of living that means its citizens can support the arts.

“I’m lucky to be an artist. It’s a career Australia can support. If you go to other parts of the world you see the other side of the coin where artists need to have other jobs to sur-vive.”

The “inspiration of the great Aus-tralian land” was another major ben-efit of being in this country.

“It’s inspired artists since before federation, documenting the land and the rapid growth from country to town.

“Galleries often rule the roost overseas, whereas here galleries and art shows organised by Rotary and Lions clubs compliment each other.”

GREG Allen, left, and his ‘Pittwater, Sydney’ watercolour, above, is preparing works for the 94th Twenty Melbourne Painters Society exhibition.

heT itizenCArt’s top 20 brush up for new show

Allen has been a member of the invitation-only Twenty Melbourne Painters Society for 10 years and sees it as “an elite, nice little soci-ety” whose members are chosen by their peers.

Current members are Angela Ab-bott, Greg Allen, June Barnett, Bill Caldwell, Margaret Cowling, John Dudley, Stephen Doyle, Jacqueline Fowler, Amanda Hyatt, Lee Ma-chelak, Barbara Mc Callum, Paul Mc Donald-Smith, Ross Paterson, Herman Pekel, Clive Sinclair, Pe-ter Smales, David Taylor, Maxwell

Wilks, Judith Wills and Joseph Zbukvic.

Past members have included Ru-pert Bunny, Sir William Dargie, Sir John Longstaff and Clarice Beckett.

Each artist usually submits seven or eight works to the annual exhibi-tion, which Allen terms a “flagship show”.

“The sheer size of the exhibition space [at Glen Eira City Council Gallery] allows works of all sizes,” he says.

As well as the latest output from the peninsula, Allen will be showing

figurative works, scenes from Eu-rope and “Aussie ideas – there’s no signature theme”.

The Twenty Melbourne Painters Society was established in 1918 by a “strong-willed and rebellious group of artists”, says its president Paul McDonald Smith.

“Over nine decades later the so-ciety’s aesthetic remains firmly grounded in classical disciplines, as revered by our predecessors, recog-nising that the pictorial elements of tone, form, colour and drawing, are vital prerequisites of fine painting.”

Mr McDonald Smith said present day members acknowledged “a debt to Max Meldrum’s school of tonal realism”.

The Twenty Melbourne Paint-ers Society 94th annual exhibition presented by Jenny Pihan Fine Art opens at 6.30pm Tuesday 31 July and then 10am-5pm daily until Sun-day 12 August and Glen Eira City Council Gallery, cnr Hawthorn and Glen Eira roads, Caulfield. Call 9598 9588, email art@jennypihan-fineart.com.au or visit www.jenny-pihanfineart.com.au

TAKING photos and learning about photography can be a social and rec-reational event.

A new camera club has been start-ed by Sue Stone, right, at The Studio Space in Hampton St, Hampton.

Ms Stone, of Sue Stone Photogra-phy, says the club is her way of “giv-ing back to the community”.

Since opening her in Hampton St in November, Ms Stone says her beginner workshops have become increasingly popular among photog-raphy enthusiasts.

“The camera club is a social step away from the more formal work-shops, offering a relaxed evening, talking photos, and perhaps even sharing a wine,” Ms Stone said.

“This is a place to meet with oth-ers who also share a photography passion with meetings being held on the last Thursday of each month.

“We are also planning regular photography excursions, competi-tions, guest speakers and club dis-counts all encompassed in a relaxed, yet professional environment.”

The club’s next meeting on Thurs-day 26 July will have two guest speakers plus discussion about members’ ‘Monochrome’ themed photos.

Membership is $95 a year. For more details contact Sue Stone on 9521 8577 or email sue@thestudio-space.com.au

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heT itizenC

Are you seeking re-election?Cr Louise Cooper-Shaw At this stage I am considering running again for council.Cr Felicity Frederico Still to decide.What have been the highlights of your current term?Cr Cooper-Shaw My term as mayor has been a significant highlight during my four-year term as councillor. I’ve been privileged to meet and work with some wonderful people from our community. These include volunteers who tirelessly give their time, residents who actively raise awareness of community’s concerns and council officers who work diligently in the background to deliver better services to the community.Cr Frederico As one of only two female councillors, and as the only mother with school aged children who are heavy users of council facilities, I have enjoyed representing and advocating for families in the Bayside areas. Particularly where it contributes to our overall health and wellbeing in the community. Council plays a critical role as a primary provider of recreational opportunities in the community. It has been a priviledge to advocate and

contribute to policy in this critical area.What do see as your main achievements this term?Cr Cooper-Shaw In my role as mayor and with the support of my fellow councillors, I have been able to achieve positive outcomes for the community on a number of key issues. These include: securing funding for the Highett Hub; improving the ‘liveability’ of Bayside by providing greater certainty in planning for areas that are designated for growth and those clearly identified for protection; implementation of Hampton St village improvements; advocating for additional open space in Highett; and permanent adoption of Beach Rd safety provisions for cyclists.Cr Frederico Encouraging council to be open and transparent in its dealings; undeterred questioning; encouraging the reopening of the New St gates. If re-elected, what would you like to achieve?Cr Cooper-Shaw Committed to responsible fiscal management of council and minimising rate increases; to explore new ways that council can more effectively inform and consult with the community and

promote transparency in all council matters; continue my political independence in council chamber as I strongly believe that politics should not interfere in local government deliberations; continue to support local business people particularly in these tough times; continue to close the infrastructure renewal gap to ensure that our sports pavilions, kindergartens, libraries, roads and footpaths are well maintained and to lobby federal and state governments for grants for new capital projects; commitment to sustainable ‘green’ living with a responsible and balanced implementation process that meets the needs of the Bayside community.Cr Frederico Ensuring that our valuable and scarce open space is accessible to all in the community and not locked up and fenced off; development is contained to appropriate areas; the lack of parking in our shopping centres is addressed; the increasing reliance on cars in our community. I would love children to feel safe riding bikes on our local streets; a lack of diversity on the current council.What were the main issued facing council in the current term?Cr Cooper-Shaw Developing

and implementation of a Bayside housing strategy and mandatory height controls; management of council’s debt; climate change; independent living unitsmaintenance; upgrade and renewal of council’s buildings and other community assets; provision of open space and recreational facilities; advocating and lobbying state and federal politicians; maintaining and improving community services.Cr Frederico Lack of financial resources; the poor state of our recreational facilities, and the inequity of recreational resources available for girls relative to boys; the continuing exodus of senior [council] staff creating a void in corporate knowledge and follow through. What do you see as the main issues facing council in the coming term?Cr Cooper-Shaw As above.Cr Frederico Accommodating our population growth targets, while maintaining the village coastal ambience; maintaining and enhancing our aging infrastructure so it is fit for purpose for now and for the future; a continuing lack of financial resources; ranking as the third last council in regards to external funding, Bayside Council

has a high reliance on ratepayers. Did you have any disappointments in the current term?Cr Cooper-Shaw There are none.Cr Frederico Yes!!If so, what were they?Cr Frederico I and my colleagues made ill-informed decisions, which were later reversed, regarding the closure of the child care centres and independent living units. When further information came to light, I advocated for these sensitive issues to be reconsidered; the lack of progress regarding the refurbishment of the Hampton St shopping centre. This work has been delayed and is now scheduled to commence in March 2013.Any other comments?Cr Frederico Local government is about grass roots politics and local issues. It’s about the community and the people that make up our community. As Margaret Thatcher said, there is no such thing as a society. It’s about men, women and families. Councillors need real connections with these men, women and families. It is about knowing our community and having genuine involvement.

BAYSIDE Council has issued a news release urging “community minded citizens to start thinking” about standing in the 27 October municipal elections.

The release sees being a council-lor as “a great opportunity to influ-ence the future direction of the local community”.

“A councillor’s role is exciting but also demanding, and prospec-tive candidates need to find out what is involved before nominating for election.”

Prospective councillors can attend

information session on 19 and 26 July to hear speakers from council, the Municipal Association of Victo-ria and the Victorian Electoral Com-mission.

The 6.30pm sessions at Bayside’s Corporate Centre, 76 Royal Av, San-dringham, are free and registered participants will receive an informa-tion kit.

The Citizen emailed questions to the three Central Ward councillors - Louise Cooper-Shaw, James Long and Felicity Frederico. Only two re-sponded:

Elections coming for ‘community minded’

Louise Cooper-Shaw James Long Felicity Frederico

THE Australian Services Union has called for a code of conduct to protect workers’ entitlements when councils contract out services.

ASU assistant secretary Richard Duffy said that a recent decision by Fair Work Australia highlighted the problem when a waste manage-ment company applied to eliminate redundancy entitlements of employ-ees, arguing they could not afford them because they had lost a council contract.

“Councils see contracting out as a cheaper way of providing services but it is always at the expense of workers’ pay and conditions,” Mr Duffy stated.

Mr Duffy said quality of a ser-vice and employee conditions were “nearly always” better when provid-ed by a council “inhouse”.

Contractor’s code

THE number of dogs is up and, while cats may be down, whichever way you look at it, Bayside resi-dents love their pets.

However, those who don’t own pets have no shortage of complaints about the public behaviour of man’s so-called best friend.

Most of the complaints have to do with dogs barking, on the loose or doing their business in public.

Cats tend to roam, so there is a cat curfew in Bayside: 9pm-6am in daylight saving time and 8pm-6am at other times of the year.

Bayside’s 11,970 registered dogs are allowed out at any time, but must be on a leash unless in an off-leash area.

But the city’s 4211 cats – noto-riously bad at being rounded up – don’t get a gurnsey when it comes to off-leash areas, but dogs need to be “under effective control” and on the leash within 20 metres of a play-ground, sporting game, picnic area or on-leash area.

The facts and figures of Bayside’s dog and cat population – 4.5 cats to every person and 12.7 dogs – are all contained in a draft Domestic Ani-mal Management Plan now open for public feedback.

The draft plan quotes the Journal of Applied Psychology as identify-ing the failure to pick up one’s dog

Draft plan aims to control petslitter as provoking more community ire than littering, illegally parking a car and graffiti.

Not surprisingly, non-pet owners are likely to be significantly more concerned about this issue (90 per cent) than dog owners (58 per cent).

The mayor Cr Louise Cooper-Shaw says pets are an important part of the city’s community “and bring significant health and wellbeing and social benefits to pet owners”.

Pets help keep older people in their homes, act as a catalyst for ex-panding community networks, and encourage residents to be active and healthy.

Issues identified during the re-search and consultation process in-clude the need to:

n Improve and make more accessi-ble information on council’s website related to pets.n Better balance access to parks, beaches and open space for dog and non-dog owners.n Review and improve access to dog off-leash areas and improve signage.n Implement strategies to reduce dog attacks.

For the record, Brighton has the highest number registered dogs (2818), followed by Beaumaris (1997) and Brighton East (1862). The most registered cats are also in Brighton (883), Brighton East (652) and Hampton (642).

In the past three years the number of dogs registered in Bayside has in-creased 4.1 per cent while the num-

ber of cats has dropped 14 per cent.At the same time complaints

about barking dogs jumped 17 per cent, from 241 to 283. The number of dogs being impounded has gone up by 18.6 per cent.

In 2011/12 barking dogs came first on council’s complaints list.

At Cheltenham Golf Course staff have been bitten by dogs and have found dogs wandering through the grounds and buildings. There were 80 reported dog attacks in the city in 2010/11.

The draft Animal Management Plan is available at council’s Cor-porate Centre or at www.bayside.vic.gov.au. All comments must be in writing and received by Monday 30 July.

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NEW research shows honeybees are highly susceptible to a pest that will potentially devastate them if it reaches Australia.

The varroa mite (Varroa descru-ctor) is present in all other beekeep-ing countries.

“It is largely accepted that varroa will eventually reach Australia and the findings from our research give us an indication of just how severe an impact this pest will have on our honeybee populations,” Professor Ben Oldroyd of the University of Sydney said. “If the Australian hon-eybee industry and honeybee depen-dent crops are to have any chance of minimising the impact of varroa when it arrives then it is critical that varroa-resistant honeybees are bred for the Australian environment, and urgently.”

The size of sesame seeds, varroa mites attach themselves to bees and suck their blood, leaving them more susceptible to disease.

Where varroa is present it devas-tates beehives and requires intensive treatment with miticides to control it.

Research by the University of Sydney and the United States De-partment of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service funded by the Rural Industries R&D Corporation evaluated seven lines of Australian bees and found that none had any resistance to varroa mites.

The research confirmed that an in-cursion of the pest would have dev-astating effects on bee populations and industries that rely on them for pollination, such as almond, apple, avocado, blueberry and cucumber.

The research compared the re-

sponses of the Australian honeybees to a varroa infestation with the re-sponses of US Italian honeybees that are known to be susceptible to the mite and two other types of hon-eybee known for their resistance to varroa.

Within four months of exposure to the varroa mite 44 per cent of the Aus-tralian honeybee lines had died. This compared to a four per cent mortality rate over the same period for the most resistant Russian honeybee.n BAYSIDE Council’s community nursery, at 319 Reserve Rd, Chelten-ham, will hold an open day to cel-ebrate National Tree Day 9am-2pm on Saturday 21 July. The day is a chance to buy indigenous plants that have been propagated and grown at the nursery. The plants do not need fertilisers or pesticides.

Bees fly in face of uncertain future

To advertise in The Citizen call Grada on 0432 224 172 gradawel@hotmail.com Editorial to keithplatt48@gmail.com

Silent killerA BEAUMARIS family’s close call with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning highlights the need to regularly service gas heaters.

The Behrendorf family thought they were suffering the flu but their symptoms – headaches, tiredness and nausea – were actually the first signs of CO poisoning. In this case the family was fortunate, they realised what was wrong before it was too late.

This colourless, odourless gas is produced by faulty or unserviced gas heaters, and this silent killer has claimed nine Victorian lives since 2000, including young brothers Chase and Tyler Robinson from Mooroopna.

In addition to the fatalities, it is estimated more than 100 people are seriously affected by CO poisoning every year including many more who suffer adverse health effects

from lower but ongoing exposure to CO.

Energy Safe Victoria recom-mends that all gas heaters – includ-ing ducted heaters, room heaters and decorative log fires – are ser-viced at least once every two years by a registered or licensed gasfitter to ensure both the heater and flue are working properly.

Brick chimneys also need to be inspected as part of the testing process to ensure they are removing carbon monoxide from the home. Any holes in the mortar or brick-work can stop the chimney drawing properly.

If you haven’t had your gas heat-er serviced in the past two years, I urge you to ensure it is done as soon as possible. Don’t let your family fall victim to this silent killer.Paul FearonDirector of Energy Safety

Letter

Continued from Page 1Bill Thomas’s most recent

achievement has been the addition of a $22,000 wind turbine paid for by the school council and former student, Nigel Holmes.

The turbine is one of only three of its kind in Australia.

Mr Thomas has received several awards, including the Public Service Medal for “outstanding public service and exceptional contribution as a leader in sustainability” in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honour’s List, the Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year and the 2012 United Nations of Australia World Environment Day Individual Award for Outstanding Service to the Environment.

Mr Thomas will speak about ‘The importance of sustainability’ at the next meeting of Bayside Climate Change Action Group, which starts

Teaching for a sustainable life

Elemental creationsARTISTS are being invited to create works to the theme of the ‘Five ele-ments’ – earth, fire, water, metal and wood – for Bayside’s Pink Lady art exhibition.

The exhibition and art awards are held on 27 and 28 October.

By entering, artists will help raise money for breast cancer research and have a chance to win prizes, in-cluding vouchers from Hampton Art Supplies and solo exhibitions.

For details and entry form go to www.pinkladyart.com.au

BAYSIDE residents are being asked to give their views on transport within the municipality.

The council wants to draw up an integrated transport strategy and has released four “themes” that will form its “heart”:Living and working locally – to promote walking and cycling for short trips within neighbourhoods to improve safety, lower traffic vol-umes and reduce the demand for parking on our local roads.A networked and accessible city – to improve accessibility by public transport to key destinations both within and beyond Bayside and to improve individual travel choices for people of all abilities and reduce our dependence on private vehicles.Managing conflicting priorities – to better manage competing and conflicting priorities between users (vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists) of roads, public spaces and around key destinations.

Changing perceptions – to encour-age positive changes in travel behav-iour and explore opportunities for sustainable travel within Bayside.

Comments can be made about the transport discussion paper until 5pm on Wednesday 1 August by visiting www.bayside.vic.gov.au/transport-strategy or in writing to Bayside Council.

To contact the Integrated Trans-port Strategy project team call 9599 4444 or email enquries@bayside.viv.gov.au.

Residents can also attend “drop-in sessions”: 12.30-2pm at Hampton Community Centre, Willis Lane, Hampton, on Wednesday 18 July or 7-8.30pm at Sandringham Corpo-rate Centre, 76 Royal Av, Sandring-ham on Thursday 19 July. To regis-ter for one of the drop-in sessions, visit www.bayside.vic.gov.au or call 9599 4444.

Council seeks views on what moves you

MURDOCH University’s pet emer-gency centre is warning pet owners to be cautious when using snail bait.

Director of the university’s veteri-nary hospital Dr Mark Lawrie says vets usually see a rise in snail bait poisoning involving cats and espe-cially dogs after deluging rains.

“Snail bait toxicity can cause muscle tremors, seizures and death. We’ve seen a number of cases over the last couple of weeks at the pet emergency centre and want pet own-ers to be aware of warning signs and the actions that need to be taken,” he said.

Typically, snail baits contain around three per cent poison and an ingredient such as bran or molasses to attract snails and slugs. While some baits contain a bittering agent,

this may not deter all pets. As well, powered baits may stick to pets’ coats and paws and be licked off.

Signs that an animal may have ingested snail baits – typically blue or green in colour – include muscle twitching, loss of coordination, heightened heart rate and seizures.

“If a cat or dog exhibits tremor signs, even if there is no evidence of snail baits being eaten, owners should get them to a veterinarian im-mediately,” Dr Lawrie said.

“It really is a matter of life and death and people shouldn’t hesitate. If pets have ingested snail bait, we can induce vomiting, and if needed, perform a cleansing of the stomach and colon to reduce the toxic load and poisoning effect of the chemi-cal.”

If you do suspect poisoning, Dr Lawrie suggests calling housemates, family members and neighbours to see whether snail baits have been used or seen in the area where the pets have been.

“The more information a person can give the vet, the better. If you know an animal has ingested poi-sons you’ve laid, bring the snail bait package with you.”

As a matter of course, Dr Lawrie recommends people know and re-cord all poisons used in and around their homes.

“If you use snail bait or any poi-son, put a sign on the fridge with the date used, so everyone in the house is aware. Knowing what’s been used can help keep not only your cats and dogs safe, but children as well.”

Pet victims of snail bait with its annual general meeting at 7.30pm on Tuesday 31 July at Sandringham Uniting Church Hall, Trentham St, Sandringham. Visit www.bccag.org.au for further information.