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Review Of Local LawThe recent review of Bass Coast’s Local Law generated huge interest from the public. Bass Coast Mayor, Cr Veronica Dowman, said the response had been fantastic. By Bass Coast - 22nd June 2012 - Back to News "Council is required to review the Local Law every ten years and we have received some really good suggestions and feedback from the community," said Cr Dowman.
"The reason we have local laws is to respond to the needs of our community. We take pride in listening and responding to their concerns. The issues addressed through the Local Law are the issues that are important to our community. We have been very gratified with the response and the effort that people have taken to provide us with feedback."
The Local Law was on exhibition for over a month and Council received 28 submissions.
"We went through a very thorough process with this review, advertised it widely and have really listened to people’s concerns," explained Cr Dowman.
"Most concerns that were raised have been dealt with, and issues clarified with the result that people were satisfied with the outcome."
In response to a number of the issues raised by the community there will be recommendations made to Council to amend the draft Local Law so that it better reflects the community’s needs. A number of these changes will make the operation of the Local Law more flexible.
"The Local Law covers a huge range of issues and does have to be quite detailed. The laws are designed to make Bass Coast a better place to live and our staff take a proactive, educational approach when enforcing the laws," Cr Dowman said.
"Having these laws means if any person or group is behaving in a way that is causing annoyance to or threatening the safety of other members of the community, we have a tool to address this."
Cr Dowman said she was extremely proud of the work the Community Safety team did to protect the community.
"Their role includes preparing for emergencies, dealing with dog attacks, stopping litter, operating school crossings, providing child immunisation through to checking on food premises to make sure food is safe and removal of fire hazards. When you see the range of issues that confront our staff, the importance of Local Laws really becomes apparent," continued Cr Dowman.
"For instance, when people burn off in townships, this can affect the health of other people such as asthmatics. Branches that are hanging too low over footpaths can make access difficult for people, particular those on motorised scooters. Without effective Local Laws, we would not be able to address these issues. Our staff deal with over 3600 requests from residents regarding our local laws in the course of a year and do their best to resolve issues so that Bass Coast is a great place to live, work and visit."
The Local Law will be presented to the July Council Meeting for adoption.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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