Newsletter # 3 - Baby Steps
Anzac Day is one of my favourite days of the year. Communities come together to celebrate the people that have served and continue to serve our country. It gives me a huge amount of hope to look at these celebrations all over the country and see people from all walks of life standing shoulder to shoulder paying their respect and thanks to those who fought for the lives we have today..Lest We forget.
The support the Valley Alliance has been receieving also gives me hope. Our member numbers are increasing on a weekly basis. To those new members that have joined up…Thanks for joining the fight. There is no chance that we can do this as individuals. The system is designed so that the goverenment,in all its wisdom, can serve the greater good. In our case, the Govenment has lost sight of what the greater good is and who they are serving. We need the whole community to get involved. Keep talking to your neighbours & friends and get them involved. We don’t want to lose our communities and way of life. Our forefathers fought for the lives we lead today, now it’s our turn to stand up for what is right!
The committee has been working incredibly hard . Here’s a recap of what we have been up to:
REPORTS : We have commissioned a report on our Koala community. You may or may not know that the Koalas around Woolomin are one of the few happy & healthy communities in Northern NSW. We want to keep them in an environment that supports their continued growth. 5 Years of rampant construction and habitat destruction will have a severe impact on them.
LEGAL : Our lawyers are working to delay the scoping report submission date (End of May early June) . EnergyCo have moved the timeline forward. We want it delayed to allow time for proper assessment of all alternative routes and options
MEMBERSHIPS: Nearly 200 paid up members with more people indicating they will join. Remember you aren’t a member until you have paid $10 (it’s a legal thing) . We can count you once you are financial. BUTTON to sign up at the bottom of the newsletter .
SOCIAL MEDIA : Valley Alliance FB , PLEASE FOLLOW US. News and events will be regularly updated
MEDIA : Channel 7 lead story (CLICK HERE to watch it). More to come !
COMMUNITY MEETING: May 14 6.30pm Woolomin Hall . Valley Alliance will host a BBQ from 5.30pm . EnergyCo presentation & Q&A from 6.30pm. Please put it in your diaries. DO NOT MISS IT. We will send more details as we get closer to the date.
ENERGYCO : Committee mebers met with EnergyCo to discuss the complete lack of response to community questions. There were promises made but we have been here before! We will update you if we actually receive something worthwhile.
IMPACTED LANDHOLDERS: EnergyCo have been responding to your letters requesting Valley Alliance act on your behalf. EnergyCo do have an obligation to contact you directly. They do not have to contact or cc Valley Alliance if they do not want to. If you receive an email from an EnergyCo rep please reply with the following:
Dear EnergyCo,
While we understand you have a duty to engage directly with landholders or their legal representatives, we also consider a direct request to you to be acted upon. If EnergyCo is serious about community consulatation and progress, listening and acting on community feedback is a starting point. We would encourage you to include Valley Alliance in all correspondence with us going forward.
Sincerely,
REMEMBER
If EnergyCo pressures you for a meeting on your land REFUSE it. You cannot be penalised in any way for doing this.
Do NOT believe everything they tell you. Their goal is to divide and conquer through any means possible. Talk with VA and your neighbours.
CONSTRUCTION IMPACT: 5 years of disruption to landholders and the whole community with extra truck movements, road easements on your land (not just the corridor) etc
What you can do to help:
NEIGHBOURS: If you know of any directly impacted landowners, please give them our details so we can assist and work with them.
WIN,WIN, WIN: 500’s club tickets are for sale at the Woolomin store. $10 per ticket for your chance to win $500. Sign up this Saturday at Woolomin store
WRITE: We sent you templates to send to Penny Sharpe (the minister in charge of this decision) . Please send them to her. If you don’t regiter your protest now it will be to late. If you have any problems with this please contact me asap and we will help you.
Have a great week. Remember WE ARE STRONGER TORETHER
THERE ARE BETTER OPTIONS
Thanks
Tim
Tim White
President
Valley Alliance