We had incredibly exciting news last week with Minister for Regional Development, Jaclyn Symes, visiting us to announce that the state government will be providing a further $5 million in funding towards the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) project.
This huge investment will allow construction of the one kilometre underground laboratory to continue, as well as supporting the conducting of experiments into dark matter research, which is still one of the great unsolved mysteries of the universe.
Not only is this incredibly exciting news for the world of physics, but it's also fantastic for our local community, as this funding will support the creation of new jobs and education opportunities.
In particular, SUPL will inspire many of the younger people within our shire to pursue a career in this exciting field, with a great opportunity to learn more about this project that's happening right here in their backyard.
A big thank you once again to Minister Symes and the state government for their fantastic support of the project.
In Great Western we are kicking off a month-long community engagement period, called Growing Great Western.
This will include activities such as community walks, an online survey, catch ups with councillors and other small scale local events where we'll be looking for feedback and ideas to learn about what the community views as important when it comes to Great Western.
I encourage everyone to jump onto our website and find out what events they might like to attend to share their thoughts, concerns and ideas, as well as leaving some feedback for us via the online form.
Recently we met with the CEO of St Arnaud Hospital, to discuss what priorities are needed for the facilities at the hospital and how we can help. These initial discussions will hopefully develop into plans to refurbish the building, which is in sore need of an upgrade.
We also continue to look forward to the Victorian State Merino Field Day which will be held at the Marnoo Events Centre on Friday 23 August.
The event will include 28 Victorian merino studs on display, as well as a fully licensed bar and live music, which is predicted to attract between 800-1,000 people to the area. There has been quite a resurrection of sheep and wool of late, so hopefully this event will grow into a great one.
To finish off, I'd like to make the community aware that the 2019 Bulgana Wind Farm Community Fund is now open for applications from local community organisations.
$120,000 is up for grabs for community groups to apply for to help them with projects that fit the eligibility criteria. Large grants of $20,000 and smaller grants of $5,000 are available, so we encourage these groups to jump on our website and apply now with applications closing 1 September.
A big thank you to Neoen Australia, owners of the Bulgana Green Power Hub, for their generosity in continuing this program for a second year.
Cr Kevin Erwin
Mayor of Northern Grampians Shire Council
