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General News

1 April, 2025

Advisory group appointed

The formation of a new advisory reference group marks another step towards addressing the Carisbrook communities concern in council’s flood mitigation strategy.

By Sam McNeill

Advisory group appointed - feature photo

At last week’s council meeting, council endorsed the Draft Flood Study Advisory Reference Group Terms of Reference following an EOI which closed in February.

The Advisory Reference Group consists of councillor Anna De Villiers, three community members, relevant council staff, and representatives from various agencies.

Council’s endorsement follows over a decade of work on flood mitigation in Carisbrook and hundreds of thousands spent.

Central Goldfields Shire mayor Grace La Vella said the updated Flood and Drainage Management Plan was part of council’s continued commitment to flood mitigation in Carisbrook.

“As we develop and implement the updated Carisbrook Flood Management Plan, the newly established Flood Study Advisory Reference Group will support this process by providing guidance, expertise and stakeholder perspectives,” she said.

“The group will include members from SES, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA), three council officers, Tullaroop Ward councillor Anna De Villiers, CFA and the Department of Transport and Planning.”

Cr La Vella said the group will meet bi-monthly or as required over the duration of the project, expected to take around 20 months.

“We thank the community members for their willingness to be involved and look forward to the updated plan being completed in due course,” she said.

Member of a prior reference group, Ian Boucher, warned during the EOI process that a small number of community representatives meant it’s more important the right people were chosen.

“You’ve really got to put your personalities and egos aside and put the best interests of the Carisbrook community at heart,” he said.

“There needs to be somebody that’s had real world experience on what the problem was to start off with. To try and fix the problem, you need to know what it was.”

The three community members are Martin Mackay, Aaron Beaton and Giuliano Marcon who was also appointed to serve on the Tender Evaluation Panel for the project consultant role.

Cr La Vella said the new Flood and Drainage Management Plan will allow council to better understand the flood risk for Carisbrook. It will include the extension of the mapping area to include Flagstaff and reassess the mitigation options which may compliment those that currently exist, among other developments.

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