Climate change is real and having an increasing impact on our lives. In recent years the Eurobodalla region has had direct experience of the impact of climate change, with devastating bushfires, flooding, heat waves, and coastal erosion.

 

We urgently need to improve our preparedness with a workable Climate Action Plan with practical steps Council could take to improve resilience and protect people, homes, and our environment.

1. Helping residents stay safe

Establish Heat Havens

Climate change is leading to an increasing number of hot (max >35C) and very hot (max >40C) days in the Eurobodalla region. At the same time electricity costs have risen sharply, even after allowing for the federal government’s $300 rebate.

Lower income families and older couples who do not go out to work will find it difficult to cool their homes during extended heatwaves, and will benefit from public heat havens.

 

A Labor Council will set up heat havens to provide support for vulnerable residents during heatwaves by:​

• Working with clubs across the Eurobodalla to open facilities during heatwaves to non-members and establish designated areas as heat havens. 

• Ensuring Council facilities such as libraries and community centres and halls are open into the early evening during heatwaves to act as heat havens, with access to cooled water.

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Free green waste disposal

​Several years of above average rainfall have resulted in strong vegetation growth across the Eurobodalla region.​ Residents clearing vegetation around their property to mitigate bushfire risk are currently charged $17 per trailer load for green waste that will not fit into the fortnightly green bin collection.

Last year the Council offered free green waste disposal for a fortnight in September to coincide with the Rural Fire Service’s ‘Get Ready’ weekend – this is not long enough.

 

A Labor Council will:​

• ensure year-round free disposal of green waste at the Council’s waste management facilities and improve green waste recycling.

• explore possibilities for processing green waste to generate mulch and compost that can be sold to offset the cost of providing free disposal.

2 . Make the Climate Action Plan work

Eurobodalla Shire Council released a ten-year Climate Action Plan in 2022, with an action list of 58 items, and established a Climate Change Advisory Committee.

However, while Council’s Annual Report contains some incidental reporting against actions included in the Climate Action Plan, there is no comprehensive review of progress against the Plan.

 

A Labor Council will:​

• Carry out and publish an annual review of progress against the target and actions in the Climate Action Plan, drawing on advice from the Climate Change Advisory Committee.
• Use the results of the review to reallocate resources to capitalise on successes and improve on areas of underperformance.

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​3. Disaster and environmental management

 

Councils are on the frontline of disaster preparedness and response. Traditional owners in the Eurobodalla shire, people of the Yuin Nation, have been caring for country for thousands of years. We need this wealth of knowledge to inform environmental protection, management and disaster preparedness and response. 

 

A Labor Council will:

Update climate action and disaster preparedness action strategies to include local Aboriginal leadership and advice.

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4. Electric Vehicle charging stations​

There are relatively few EV charging stations across Eurobodalla.

In the ACT – a major source of tourism for the Eurobodalla – EV sales made up 21.9 per cent of new car sales in 2023 – up from just under 10 per cent in 2022.

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If the Eurobodalla is to continue to be a destination of choice for tourists from the ACT, the availability of EV charging stations will need to improve.

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The NSW Government is making grants available to assist businesses and local governments in installing charging stations. 

 

A Labor Council will:

• work to ensure publicly available EV charging stations are available in all major centres and villages across the shire.