News and Media Releases

 

This will be my last report as Chairman as it is time for me to relinquish the reigns and past the leadership on to others. The Committee was advised of this decision some months ago so as to give them time to think about a successor.

Advance Morwell was formed in 1997 following the return of elected councils after the amalgamation process.

At this time there were at least three Groups operating in Morwell; The  Morwell Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Morwell Mainstreet; and The Morwell Development Group.

At a Meeting of these groups held at the Italian Australian Club it was decided to hold a public meeting on the 26 November 1997 at KERNOT HALL.

OUR AIM IS TO ADVOCATE FOR MORWELL AND LATROBE CITY WITH LOCAL STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND TO STRENGETHEN OUR LINKS WITH SMALL BUSINESS IN THE CBD OF MORWELL.

Since that time the organisation has worked tirelessly to promote and lobby all levels of Government in the interests of Morwell, Latrobe City and Gippsland.

Over the past 12 Months Advance Morwell has commissioned and paid for a Graffiti Artist to paint a work on the wall of the Trophy Centre.

The banner previously erected by us depicting the Power Industry had deteriorated was in need of replacement. Since this work was completed other work has been commissioned by shop owners and the project is now being managed by RMIT as part of the work of Reactivate across Latrobe City.

An unknown Morwell resident has made a very generous donation of $20,000 to Advance Morwell and it was decided to purchase three outdoor musical instruments and to place them in Legacy Place.

The instruments have been purchased and are in storage awaiting installation by Latrobe City.

A Rose Garden signage project sponsored by ENGIE (GDFSuez) is progressing with the first location sign completed and installed and the second rose garden layout signage to be completed in the near future. Max Williamson is managing this project on behalf of Engie and Advance Morwell.

The Arlie Bank Gallery has been managed by Advance Morwell for 16 years and continues to house Bev’s Wonder World of Dolls. Max Williamson has managed the property and attended to maintenance over this period.

Following the Hazelwood Mine Fire the former Coalition government provided a 1.4 Million dollar economic development package for urban design, tourism, beautification, events and small business mentoring projects.

The Future Morwell Urban Design Revitalisation Plan which is being funded from this package has been given the green light by Council for an 8 week Community Consultation Process which is due to start following the end of the "Caretaker Period"

The Future Morwell Project has been a long, time consuming and frustrating project for a number of Advance Morwell and Community Members and I can only hope that following the Council Consultation period we see something happening on the ground in commercial Road.

We are pleased to report that Advance Morwell has an active traders group with representatives on our Committee. The Traders Group meets separately on a regular basis to deal with issues facing the CBD and to plan special activities.

We have had one successful meeting of the two groups and it is expected that these combined meeting will continue into the future.

We were pleased to be invited by the Committee for Gippsland to participate in the "our Region Our Future Project" the results of which have been forwarded to State and Federal Governments as input into the debate about the Latrobe Valley Transition.

 We have also made representations through the Committee for Gippsland to the State Government on recent and continuing problems with Vic Rail and the Gippsland Line into Melbourne. One would hope that with the sale of the Melbourne Ports and the funds that are now available as a result of the sale that we will see a dedicated rail service between Pakenham and Melbourne Melbourne in the near future.

Since the Hazelwood Mine Fire in February  2014 a considerable amount of time has been taken up with Committee Members representing Advance Morwell on the Community Recovery Committee and the Mine Fire Enquiry, as well as numerous consultations on a range of topics emanating from the Mine Fire. I have recently used the phrase "Consultation Fatigue" which I believe a lot of people are suffering since the Mine Fire as various Government Departments seek input from the community.

It is now approaching three years since this event and I often ask the question "Would we be in a better position if another event occurred today"

In closing I would like to thank the current Committee members Vice Chair Graeme Sennett, Secretary Keith Brownbill; Treasurer Max Williamson and Membership Officer Howard Williams committee Members David Mcinness, Beverly Lorraine, Ruth Codlin, Lauren Marks, Lynn Keeley, Jenny Rutherford

For their contribution to the success of Advance Morwell over the past year.    

Bev Lorraine's Wonderworld of Dolls, a unique Morwell attraction, has featured in the highly regarded Dolls, Bears and Collectables magazine.

The article outlines the wonderful collection curated by Bev and housed at Airlie Bank House, which was restored and is maintained by Advance Morwell. 

To see the collection, visit Airlie Bank House, 31-33 The Boulevard  on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am until 3pm or other days by appointment.  For more information call Bev on (03) 5133 9066 or email richwern@bigpond.com. 

Advance Morwell, together with retailer groups from Moe, Traralgon and the LCBTA, are excited to be launching a Shop Local Gift Card Program, which will use the EFTPOS network as the transaction processing platform.

This Program was rolled out successfully in November 2014 by the Traralgon Chamber of Commerce & Industry as a pilot project, and as a result of it’s success, we’re now expanding it across the entire Latrobe City.

Using a ‘closed loop system” the program enables participating businesses to accept ‘Shop Latrobe City Gift Cards’ in their stores, in the same way that you would accept an eftpos or credit card.

We invite all businesses throughout the Latrobe City to participate in the Gift Card Program, as it’s success will be dependant upon providing gift card recipients with diversity to shop at as many stores as possible throughout the region. So far over 40 businesses are participating in the program, with many more showing interest in joining.

The Shop Latrobe City Gift Card Program will encourage consumers to shop locally, and enables small businesses to compete with the larger stores and shopping centres, who all offer their own Gift Cards.

Advance Morwell Chairman John Guy OAM, said today that the news of job losses at the ASIC Traralgon Office is yet another blow to employment in the Latrobe Valley.

As a former Mayor of Morwell, Mr Guy said that he could well remember the effort that went into the establishment of the ASIC Office in Traralgon.

The three councils of the time in Moe Morwell and Traralgon were warned that if they did not work together, they would not be able to attract this facility. It was our working together that finally convinced the Federal Government to build the facility in the Latrobe Valley.

For weeks now we have been hearing rumours of the privatising of this business and assurances from politicians that this would not lead to job losses.

With wall to wall national and liberal party politicians in Gippsland, we need them to actively support the retention of regional jobs and ensure that ASIC remains in Traralgon providing much needed work for our community.

“It is important for us all to work together and lobby government to not only retain our existing jobs, but also to create new employment opportunities to both address our region’s escalating unemployment issues and diversify our  narrow employment base.”  Added Mr Guy.

Advance Morwell Chairman, John Guy, presented Monday night's Latrobe City Council meeting with a comprehensive submission highlighting the weaknesses of the Traralgon site for the proposed Performing Arts and Convention Centre, along with the strengths of the Kernot Hall site.

Advance Morwell PACC Submission 2015

Advance Morwell Executive are currently preparing a submission to the Latrobe City Council on the proposal to construct a Performing Arts and Convention Centre.

Submissions are being presented to Council at their meeting on Monday 18th May 2015 at 6 PM.

Council are reviewing the project and its location. As you will be aware the previous Council decided on Morwell as the Location and this is now one the issues being considered in this review.   

Advance Morwell welcomes reopening of the Hazelwood Mine Fire Enquiry and Health Study funding but is critical of the lack of Government response to other issues facing Morwell

Advance Morwell Chairman John Guy OAM has welcomed the recent announcement by Premier Daniel Andrews on the reopening of The Hazelwood Mine Fire Enquiry and funding for the Mine Fire Health Study.

Mr Guy said “This is great news for Morwell, but the Government must give adequate notice to the community about the hearing dates to ensure everyone has the opportunity to contribute.”

“The re-opening of the enquiry is an opportunity to bolster regulations as they apply to mining in Victoria and to ascertain the veracity of claims that the mine fire contributed to the local deaths.” 

According to Mr Guy, Advance Morwell is extremely concerned and disappointed that other significant issues facing Morwell are being ignored by the State Government.

“Letters to Government Ministers on issues such as the construction of the Morwell Primary School,  the future restoration of Power Station sites and Local Government governance are not even being acknowledged”  Said Mr Guy.

“Morwell has suffered greatly over recent years and we need certainty that as industry transitions, we will not be left with disused industrial sites and poorly rehabilitated infrastructure” 

“The former and long disused SECV interconnecting railway bridge at Morwell’s Western entrance is a stark and ongoing reminder of the visible scars that will be left behind if Government does not effectively regulate and control the deindustrialisation of this region.”  He added.

Authorised by; John V Guy OAM

Chairman.

Advance Morwell Inc.

Advance Morwell applauds the efforts of Reactive Latrobe and their 'Get Sunflowered' initiative which has resulted in some excellent publicity for  Morwell as well as a great community response. 

Read more by following the link below: 

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/sunflowers-in-full-bloom-in-the-middle-of-morwell-in-the-latrobe-valley-20150225-13oi5w.html

Advance Morwell has welcomed the recommendations of the Hazelwood Mine Fire Enquiry Report together with the affirmations made by both GDF SUEZ and the Victorian Government.

According to John Guy, Chair of Advance Morwell,  the report is very comprehensive and clearly details the inadequacies of the GDF SUEZ response along with the failure of various Government agencies to respond in a timely manner.

“While the report highlights the failure of Labour, Coalition and Local Governments and  Local government, to effectively regulate and enforce the operation of mining in the Latrobe Valley, Advance Morwell is disappointed that the recommendations do not address this situation.” Said Mr Guy  

“If implemented, the comprehensive list of recommendations and affirmations, together with actions regarding  the regulation of coal mines in the Latrobe Valley, should mean that we never in future experience an event of this magnitude.”  He added.

Mr Guy, who is a forty year plus resident of Morwell, as well as Chair of Advance Morwell, went on to say that there is a strong feeling within the Morwell Business and wider Community, that it is now time to see an end to the endless negative publicity about Morwell.  

“Our traders, whose businesses suffered significant financial impacts as a result of the fires, are telling us that in the interests of the town’s future economic viability and reputation, we now need to put this traumatic event behind us and move on.”  Said Mr Guy.

“We can do nothing to change the past, but we can use what we have learnt from this event to make sure that the people of Morwell and surrounds do not experience such a catastrophic event again.”  He added. 

Advance Morwell has applauded this week’s announcement by Craig Lapsley, Chief Fire Officer, of the creation of the Latrobe Valley Fire District, covering about 25 fire brigades and all the power stations and coal mines.

According to Mr Guy, this initiative will strengthen the effort to control and mitigate further outbreaks of fire in and around the Latrobe Valley.

Latrobe City councillors, Advance Morwell chair John Guy, Department of Planning and Community Development's Laurie Paton and Member for Morwell Russell Northe welcomed the improvements to the area around Morwell's skate park.

"The existing Commercial Road roundabout is too narrow, with trucks and cars often clipping the brick retaining wall, which causes damage to the brickwork, creating a poor impression of the town for those entering Morwell from the east," Mr Northe said.

"This project will fund an expansion of the roundabout to minimise damage from vehicles and reduce ongoing maintenance, with the roundabout garden to be enhanced with new plantings."

Read the full article in our local newspaper

The Express