Trees

Many towns and cities in Australia are known far and wide for their trees. For example, the Jacaranda trees in Grafton and the Cherry Blossom Trees in Cowra. Both the residents and tourists appreciate their beauty. I, and many others, are disappointed that our Shires towns have few trees planted on nature strips and along streets and roads. Muswellbrook has the Tree Estate, with streets named after trees, but very few actual trees planted. (I won't go into where all the wine is in the Wine Estate.... ) Suitable street trees have the advantages of-

• They reduce the water table level and hence reduce soil salinity, which in turn improves the soil's ability to grow plants.
• They produce oxygen. We can assume a value of $1 a day for the amount of oxygen that a tree produces. A tree thus produces $365 worth of oxygen per year or a total of $36,500 over 100 years (and that's not allowing for inflation!)
• They act as a carbon sink, using up considerable quantities of carbon dioxide, thus reducing the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
• they beautify the street landscape
• they provide shade in summer

I would encourage the Muswellbrook Shire Council to step up its tree planting program, obtain funding and sponsors to offset the costs, and increase the involvement of community members and groups in planting them. Lets us green our Muswellbrook Shire !

Black Coal

Living in the middle of coal country, I am reminded of my coal background. My surname tells of my Welsh background. My ancestors were actually coal miners in Wales. They came out to Australia to mine- not for coal, but for Gold in Ballarat at Sovereign Hill. When the gold rush days were over, they spread around Victoria and NSW and became farmers. My father was the last of the farmers in our family. In July I went with our children to see the musical Billy Elliot in Sydney. This show is about a young boy growing up in a coal mining community in the North East of England during the early 1980s. Got me dreaming of our own Upper Hunter Performing Arts Centre being built in our Muswellbrook Shire, being built with funding from Coal Companies and the State and Federal Governments. And the opening show? - Billy Elliot of course. Sponsored by the coal companies. We have an award an winning Town Band, talented musicians and singers at our Conservatorium of Music, many creative people in or Muswellbrook and Denman Theatre Societies, and brilliant dancers in our local Dance Schools. We have the talent, but no suitable performance space. I know it is a far fetched dream, but some dreams do turn into reality if thought, preparation, and hard work are put in. And someone would need to get in contact with Elton John. Wouldn't it be great if the new Muswellbrook Shire Performing Arts Centre presented the first Australian amateur performance of Billy Elliot after its Australian professional season ended?

Paper Matters 2

A follow on from yesterdays blog about shops ordering in products not in stock I wanted to buy 16 reams of paper, but the shop didn't have enough, so they kindly said they would order 16 reams for me. I went to pick them up today and to my surprise found they had ordered 16 boxes for me! Each box has 5 reams in it, so that made a total of 80 reams waiting for me ! I know I'm eager to promote myself as an election candidate, but not that eager........... I took the 16 reams, but left the other 64 reams in the store. So if anyone else plans to do some photocopying in the next few weeks, there should be no shortage of photocopy paper in our Muswellbrook Shire.

Paper Matters

You may have already received one of my election flyers in your letterbox. If not already, I hope to do so in the next few days. I am printing these at home using paper and ink I purchased in the Muswellbrook Shire. I feel its important to shop locally if at all possible to support local business people. It is good to know that some of the local shops will especially order in a product if they do not have it in stock, as it saves the fuel cost and time of driving to Newcastle or Sydney. Lets all rally around to shop locally to support our fellow community folk!

Streets, Intersesctions, Roundabouts and Safety

I drive along Acacia Drive each day of the week. I was saddened to drive past the aftermath of a terrible accident in Acacia Drive this afternoon. The residents have been worried about speeding vehicles in this Drive for quite some time, and have often asked Council to do something about it. Unfortunately to date nothing has been done, even though speed humps have been placed in nearby Beech Street and Calgaroo Avenue. Its a wonder why the speed hump was placed in the much shorter Beech Street and not the the longer Acacia Drive. When elected to council I intend to take up the Acacia Drive residents concerns and get council to implement some practical ways to slow down traffic in this major Drive in Muswellbrook. Other aspects of traffic flow also need to be looked at in South Muswellbrook urgently. For example, the intersections of Thompson Street and the New England Highway, Rutherford Road and the New England Highway, and Acacia Drive and Rutherford Road. It would be interesting to know how many accidents and near-accidents have occurred at these intersections in recent years. When large developments such as fast-food restaurants, car dealerships, and shopping centres are built, the extra traffic generated should be taken into account to determine what should be done to nearby major intersections. Speaking of poor planing, how terrible is the roundabout in Rutherford Road at the entrance to the Muswellbrook Fair Shopping Centre. Large vehicle cant negotiate it, as is eveidenced by the dangerous tyre ruts to be seen in the surrounding nature strips. Ascetically it is an ugly roundabout, and does nothing to improve the appearance of the intersection. An opportuniy to make an attractive feature, as seen in some other towns roundabouts, has been missed out on. Roundabouts can be both functional and attractive if given enough thought in the planning stages.

These boots are made for walking.......

Well, thats the way the song goes. In my case its a well-worn pair of joggers. My election campaign is rather simple - in the days leading up to the election I aim to visit as many homes in the Shire as possible to meet the residents and to leave my election flyer or place it in their letterbox. My feet tell me at the end of a days walking that there are many kilometers of nature strips and footpaths in the Shire to walk. Walking makes me very aware of the good and not so good nature strips and footpaths to walk on. Some are easy going - level, no obstacles, well lit at night, but others are a nightmare to walk along - rough, jagged concrete edges, tree roots and so forth. No wonder you see people walking and pushing prams on the roads rather than the footpaths. A few months ago I tripped over on a rough footpath in Muswellbrook and had a visit to hospital for an x-ray to check out the damage to my foot. Fortunately no major damage, just swelling, bruising and pain for several weeks. I feel for the more mature residents of the Shire who find it difficult walking on some of our nature strips and footpaths. If elected to Council I will work hard to make it a high priority to bring up the standard of our existing nature strips and footpaths. In high pedestrian traffic areas (easily seen by by bare dirt and no lawn growing) there should be well constructed concreted footpaths, particularly around places like schools, businesses & shops, playgrounds and parks, sporting facilities, hospitals, cemeteries etc. The overall appearance of the landscape will be improved and walking made more safe for people of all ages.

Denman

Yesterday and today I spent time in Denman distributing some of my Election leaflets. I was privileged to have a chat to some residents and shopkeepers as I walked all the streets of Denman. When walking around I noticed some excellent streets, guttering and footpaths, but also noticed that some streets did not have any guttering or footpaths. There is even a gully along the nature strip in Palace Street, which must be annoying when it fills with water. Denman has a certain charm to it, with an attractive main street serving its residents and visitors. I am one of those people who appreciate the great coffee served in Denmans coffee shops and enjoy attending the Denman Wine and Food Affair each year. It was good to see some new businesses opened and to learn about plans for even more new ones. Denman is a town of many 2's - 2 great pubs, 2 attractive motels, 2 friendly clubs, 2 welcoming churches, 2 excellent schools and not forgetting the 2 pumpkin trailers. Surrouding Denman are dairy farms , vineyards , horse studs, olive plantations, beef cattle studs, and a fish farm. To find out more information about Denman, take a look at the website http://www.visitdenman.com.au. Among other things you will find details and a map of the towns Heritage Walk - well worth doing.

Closing Ceremony

After a long 16 days of Olympic Fever the Closing Ceremony is on tonight. Much attention has been given to the Gold Medal winners, but all competitors must be congratulated on just getting to the Olympics. It is healthy participation that is important, so back home all people, children, youth and adults are to be encouraged in their sports participation. The Muswellbrook Shire has some excellent sporting facilities, while others fall short of acceptable standards. Unfortunately not all sports are catered for at all levels locally, so some people have to travel great distances just to participate in their chosen sport. A special mention must be given to all the mums, dads, and volunteers who give freely of their time to support young people in their sporting endeavors. We may even have some Gold Medal winners in the future amongst these Muswellbrook Shire youngsters ! The themes of the Beijing Olymics in 2008 have been friendship, peace and joy. Even though China isn't a Christian country, its interesting that the three chosen themes are also the themes of Christianity as found in the Bible. I hope that the Muswellbrook Shire Council elections will also be a time of friendship, peace and joy for all concerned.

Welcome !

Hi, thanks for taking the trouble to look up my blog! have decided to start one so that people can keep in touch with me in the lead up to the Muswellbrook Shire Council election which will take place on September 13th 2008. I have accepted nomination as a candidate in order to be elected to Council so that I can help make the Muswellbrook Shire a better place to live, work and relax in. I intend to regularly place new entries on this blog site about some of the issues that I feel are crucial for this election, and so that you can get to know me better. I would also appreciate feedback as to what you think are the major election issues. One of my goals is better communication between Council and residents, so that is why I would value hearing from you even in these pre-election days. Best regards, Max Llewelyn