Horsham Rural City Council has been delayed from starting new work to address climate change until the middle of 2021.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At its meeting on Monday night, four of the seven councillors, a majority, voted against adopting the draft Zero Net Emissions Action Plan.
The next Horsham Rural City Council will decide whether to adopt a policy.
This draft plan lays out how the council can reduce carbon emissions by 3.5 per cent (221 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) per year until 2050, a total reduction of 100% over that time.
It recommends, among other things, more energy efficiency in council buildings, replacing streetlights with energy-efficient globes, and transition the council's vehicle fleet from petrol to electric energy. It also lays out the costs and estimated long-term savings of adopting these measures.
READ MORE:
The report also notes the Horsham Aquatic Centre "is a key focus site for reduction in emissions for Council".
"Currently, the site is responsible for 66% of Council's natural gas consumption, 35% of Council's electricity consumption and 31% of Council's water consumption," it reads in part, suggesting the centre transition away from gas consumption.
Councillor Pam Clarke moved that the plan should be adopted, and was joined in voting for it by councillors Josh Koenig and Les Power.
"I think it's important we look at how we can best assist our environment," Cr Clarke said during debate. "We are watching major bushfires, loss of property and life, and it's important we do our bit as an organisation to reduce our impact on the environment.
"Often, we don't reach our full targets, but we need to aim as high as we possibly can."
Mayor Mark Radford asked Infrastructure Director John Martin whether the 3.5 per cent per year target was a long-term average or a goal the council needed to reach every 12 months.
Mr Martin said it would be averaged. He also said any trees the council planted would not be included in calculating the decrease in its emissions reductions.
Councillor David Grimble asked chief executive Sunil Bhalla why the report was on the agenda at a council meeting designed to deal with urgent business.
"It is not a special meeting, councillor, it is a council meeting, and there is no restriction on the items the council can consider," he said. "We wanted to bring tonight items that can't be considered (at the council's ordinary meeting) next week."
Councillor John Robinson said Mr Bhalla's comments contradicted the reasons given for staging Monday's meeting, which councillors voted to do in August.
Cr Radford said the council was not limited to dealing with other business during an urgent meeting.
In speaking against adopting the report, councillors Grimble, Radford and Alethea Gulvin all said the policy was something for the new council to resolve.
Cr Clarke asked Mr Martin why the policy needed to be adopted at Monday night's meeting. He replied there would be a limited chance to start implementing the plan's actions in 2020 if it wasn't.
"There is a modest amount, I think $50,000 in this year's budget to implement actions form this plan, so we won't be able to start," he said.
"The council at the time will need to make annual decisions on the investment in this plan.
"It is a major policy statement, and that's a key reason it came up tonight as well. If it's delayed, it puts us back until early or the middle of next calendar year until we can do any actions in that regard."
After the motion to adopt the plan was lost, Cr Grimble proposed the new council be briefed on the Zero Net Emissions Action Plan after it was elected. Councillors agreed to this.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to the Wimmera Mail-Times, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling the Wimmera's story. We appreciate your support of local journalism.