MELVILLE council has approved a Community Climate Action Plan for consultation despite concerns, even from supporters, that some language is “inflammatory”.
The council adopted a plan in 2023 to help the administration wean itself off fossil fuels and reach net zero emissions by 2050, but the CCAP looks at ways the City can support the community to reach the same target.
This could be through measures such as investigating how climate change might affect local businesses and how they could mitigate the risks through to reviewing its communication around evacuati on centres in the event of an emergency.
But councillor Jennifer Spanbroek was the first to raise concerns about the language, as well as a lack of detailed costings and whether the plan went beyond the council’s core business.
“Promoting climate-sensitive food choices; that is not within the City of Melville’s remit at all,” Cr Spanbroek said.
“Another theme of course is energy; transitioning to more sustainability energy sources. This is not the City of Melville’s remit.”
Cr Spanbroek said there were no costings around the theme of promoting sustainable transport options, including the need for charging stations or the damage to roads from weightier electric vehicles.
“I am concerned that there will be some form of impact on the residents and ratepayers themselves, and other areas in regard to the materials being used on buildings, facilities, etc.
“Are we going to be making our own materials?”
Cr Glynis Barber also raised concerns about some of the plan’s wording and “nebulous” costings, and while she supported the aim of the plan, wanted it revised before being released.
“I just don’t think we can say that in 2030 residents won’t be able to afford insurance premiums,” Cr Barber said.
“There will be increased flooding of buildings; I didn’t know we had flooding of buildings along the river.”
Cr Tomas Fitzgerald acknowledged the problematic wording, but urged his colleagues to support the CCAP and let the community speak up if it had a problem.
Cr Fitzgerald said the plan was one action to come out of the council’s climate emergency declaration in 2021, and while the focus had so far been mainly internal, it was an opportunity to bring the community on board.
“Councillors will also know that when we look at the Strategic Community Plan, clean and green has been identified as the number one issue for members of the comunity; it’s the single biggest, most important issue when we go out to our community and ask them ‘what do your care about’.”