A message from Mayor Bruce Meyer - 3 April, 2020

Published on 03 April 2020

The situation surrounding the attempts to try to control the spread of COVID-19 has changed considerably since I last communicated to you all.

The country has now entered stage 3 of the restrictions and this has forced Council to undertake a number of measures to protect the residents. This includes, the closing of all playgrounds in the shire, reducing cash handling at sites such as Transfer Station, decreasing the hours of contact with the Council staff by only taking appointments for VicRoads matters on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

In addition to this, a decision was made to cancel the three-year-old kinder for this year. This decision was not made lightly, but was seen as necessary as the three-year-old
group take considerably more resource to care for and in the current circumstances, maximum care needs to be provided and resources available do not allow for the level of
care to be provided.

Staff at West Wimmera have spent a considerable amount of time on the phones trying to contact as many people as possible that are classified as vulnerable. This work enables
care packages to be distributed where possible. Council has gained access to a number of packages and is commencing the process of delivering them where needed and are also
working with regional agencies on the best way to identify those in need and ensure that they get their assistance.

During this period of staged shutdowns across the state, the West Wimmera outdoor works teams and community care staff have continued to provide their services in keeping the road upgrades going and caring for elderly clients and the vulnerable in our community.

Council has also discussed the issue of supplies being provided to the various outlets in the shire, with state agencies, the cross-border commissioner and our federal member for Mallee. These people are working behind the scenes to get a better deal for our West Wimmera businesses who are trying to ensure that their loyal local clientele is catered for. We need to respect the various restrictions in place in some shops and not take more than we need and this will ensure that we get our fair share each.

It is very important that we all obey the directions provided to us by the government and restrict travel in around and through the shire to absolute essential travel only. Council has started to practice this also and held its first forum meeting via video link on Wednesday 1 April and this will occur more often over the coming months.

We are all very lucky to live in an area such as West Wimmera where the various communities look after each other and the bulk of work life can continue. This is best demonstrated by the many people across our shire trying to continue to provide essential services. These include our health care professionals, farmers, supermarket managers and workers, fuel suppliers, local media and civil workers. All of these people are working extremely hard to keep us safe and ensure that we survive economically. I would also like to remind everyone that if you or your family members are struggling
with current circumstances that help is as close as a phone to the Rural Outreach Workers. This team can provide someone to listen to you and assist with a pathway to help if you need it, so don't be afraid of calling them if you need them.

Stay safe everyone and remember that by adhering to the directions, we can get closer to things returning to normal, with each day of isolation.
Bruce Meyer
Mayor – West Wimmera Shire Council