We would like to invite you to our AGM on Thursday 25th May 7.30pm at Benalla Uniting Church.

The focus of the meeting will be our guest speaker from Indigo Power, Donald Mace. Don will speak about the 100% Renewable Community Blueprint, derived from their work in Yackandandah. Don is very familiar with the principles that drive success in Yackandandah and part of his talk will include the story behind Totally Renewable Yackandandah. Denis Ginnivan who assisted Russel Klose in our EV talk in March, and has been involved in TRY from its inception, will also be present to contribute to the discussion.

Indigo Power is a local community owned energy provider and a certified social enterprise. Its commitment to renewable energy has placed Indigo Power at the top of the rankings in Greenpeace Australia's recently published Green Energy Guide.

This is a rare opportunity to learn of a local success story in community renewable energy and the possibilities for other communities. We hope to see you there.

In the last couple of turbulent years, there haven't been many uplifting events to raise our hopes that any governments in Australia were seriously prepared to tackle climate change. The wheel may just have finally turned, as Australians have finally voted for candidates espousing much stronger action, and this gives me hope that, despite the rhetoric, the Labor Party might just need to raise their emission reduction target for 2030 beyond their policy level.

For BSFG, the review sessions held in March and April, and so well facilitated by Cath Botta, have given our organisation a new burst of enthusiasm, and new ideas to move forward and engage with the community and local government, in addition to continuing the successes of the Food Coop and REB's community energy project. Each of the focus groups established during the review sessions have already had preliminary meetings to establish their plans of action.

Also, on a very positive note, from the review sessions, was the interest shown by younger people in the work of BSFG, and this, together with ongoing contact with student leaders at Benalla College gives me encouragement that we can continue to enhance our engagement with the wider community on these vitally important issues. Some of this year's student leaders have registered for the Youth Climate Action Group sponsored by the City of Shepparton.

Just last week, we conducted a successful forum for landlords in Benalla on the topics of installing solar systems on their rental properties, along with potential energy efficiency measures to take to improve the houses. The forum was addressed by Brad Foletta from Solargain, and the audience of around 30 people were quite engaged in the discussion. A forum for renters will be held next week, and largely concentrate on the energy efficiency theme. Thankyou to Peter Maddock and Kevin Smith for leading last week's forum in my absence.

BSFG members also contributed some regular articles to the Benalla Ensign over the past twelve months - these were related to issues around the use of plastics and waste management.

I want to acknowledge the incredible amount of thought and energy that has gone into enabling the Food Coop to continue functioning throughout the pandemic. Congratulations to firstly Christine, and then Susanne, and the coop committee for developing strategies and procedures to safeguard the health of members during this time.

Congratulations also to REB for securing the funding for a second solar on kindergarten project, and now that the revolving fund is beginning to build, they can look forward to auspicing further projects very soon.

After a hiatus of 2 years, we are excited to have the Swanpool Environmental Film Festival returning next weekend. This festival has become a highlight of the annual cinema program, with the range of internationally and nationally recognised experts who have accepted the invitation to speak, and the fantastic selection of films that have informed, challenged and encouraged us over the years. Thanks and congratulations to Ian Herbert and the festival committee for providing us with yet another great program, and of course to the Swanpool catering team for their efforts in providing the physical nourishment required to see us through the 8 or 9 hour program!
 
Amongst all the positive achievements of BSFG during the past 12 months, unfortunately there was one large disappointment - our petition of 600 residents and submission to Benalla Rural City Council to declare a Climate Emergency and develop plans to reach net zero emissions by 2030 was rejected. We will endeavour to work closely with Council to make sure that steps are taken to reduce emissions, to help Benalla avert the worst consequences of climate change. The most obvious of these steps are the rapid uptake of renewables, the reduction in energy usage from all sectors of our community, the transition to electric vehicles, and the future-proofing against climate shock through greening and cooling our urban environment. We want to see targets and timelines developed that will ensure a safer and healthier future for all generations of the Benalla community.

In conclusion, I want to again thank everyone who has helped keep BSFG ticking - especially the committee members, David (vice President), Wendy (Treasurer), Judy (Secretary), Kevin (NERSA rep), Kay and Wendy, the website coordinators Peter and Bev, and our newsletter editor Ian. We will be welcoming new committee members this year, and as part of a longer term transition plan, we hope to coopt a few other members to join the committee as the year progresses. As Wendy Sherlock is retiring from the committee this year, I wish to acknowledge her extremely valuable insights over a number of years with her depth of knowledge in environmental management.

Finally, the whole BSFG community wishes John Lloyd and Freida Andrews a happy and successful relocation to Bendigo. John's outstanding contribution to the establishment of BSFG, and his leadership of BSFG and REB over the past approximately 14 years have previously been recognised by the conferring of a "life membership", and we feel certain that both he and Freida will soon find a cause to support in Bendigo which will add to their efforts in the Benalla community.


Peter Holmes 

​We invite you to attend our Annual General Meeting: 7.30 pm Thursday 9th June 2022 at the Benalla Uniting Church Fellowship Room

Our Guest Speaker, Dr Lisa Rasmussen, is a Mercy Health clinician and holder of an Environmental Master’s degree. Lisa’s work in reducing the carbon foot print of Mercy Health has resulted in “Caring for People and Planet, Mercy Health’s Strategic Response to Laudato Si” - see the article on page five of our May newsletter, ‘Helen Haines Meeting on Net Zero Agriculture’ where Lisa reminded the audience that achieving Net Zero will also require us to consider the Scope 3 emissions embodied in the goods and services we purchase.

Lisa has titled her talk, “How might we truly reduce our carbon emissions, leading to a fair and just society.  Laudato Si’ and Mercy Health’s approach to reducing its carbon footprint”.

​Supper will be served at the conclusion of the evening.

Judy Schwarzman Secretary

"It's not that many months since we had our previous AGM by Zoom in September, but there seems to have been a steady stream of activity on the environmental and sustainability front since then.

I do believe that the tide is finally turning with respect to worldwide action on climate change - sadly, not so much in Australia, because of the inability of the major political parties to comprehend the urgency of the problem. We can only hope that businesses will continue to modify their enterprises towards low carbon models, and that this will drag Australia in the right direction.
​
Climate scientists have been telling us for some time that this is the critical decade in tackling climate change, so BSFG needs to ensure that this message is heard by our community and its leaders. To this end, we organised the Climate Science talks in late February, with Dr Leanne Webb (CSIRO), Dr Lynette Bettio (BOM), Dr Helen Haines (Independent MHR, Indi), and Cr Jenny O'Connor (Mayor of Indigo Shire) as guest speakers. Approximately 130 people attended, including Benalla Mayor, Danny Claridge and Councillors O'Brien and Gunaratne, as well as the Benalla P-12 College student leaders. These student leaders have subsequently participated in the BSFG presentation to Benalla Council in March, as well as leading last Friday's Student Climate Action rally at the Ceramic Mural, with approximately 80 people taking part. This has been really encouraging for me personally, that finally there has been some engagement with our youth, and a real willingness on their part to become informed and take action.  I have requested a meeting with the P-12 College Administration to discuss the level of school engagement on the issues of climate change and sustainability. The other aspect of this engagement, I believe, is that the student's involvement has possibly influenced a shift in attitude of our local Councillors towards climate change - we will know more in the coming weeks when Council deliberates on whether to declare a climate emergency - an action that would require Council to focus its planning more acutely on sustainability issues.

Since resuming our meeting schedule after Covid, in November we screened the movie "Kiss the Ground", highlighting land restoration projects from around the world, and in March, we watched the Bob Brown Foundation documentary, "Forest Defenders", followed by a talk from Bert Lobert, giving us an update on the Strathbogie State Forest situation.

Renewable Energy Benalla continues to work towards its goal of making Benalla into a net zero carbon emissions town. It has reverted to being an action group of BSFG again, but as convenor, John Lloyd says in his report, they need more people to come on board to help in their endeavours. I urge all BSFG members and supporters to consider being involved in this work, as transforming our energy systems and becoming more energy efficient, are the major ways in which we can reduce our emissions and help avert the worst effects of climate change. Congratulations to REB for securing the funding to complete their first project of solar panels at Munro Ave Kindergarten.
I am extremely proud of Christine Holmes' work over the past ten years in planning, setting up, and coordinating the operations of the Benalla Food Co-operative. Christine, along with the people who have helped in the planning and operation of the Co-op, have through countless hours of volunteer time, established an organisation that has provided the community with choice, an opportunity to meet new friends, and of course to reduce food packaging and food miles, and support local producers where possible. Having successfully negotiated their way through the Covid problems of 2020, the Co-op can now look forward to expanding its membership base, and help spread the message of sustainable use of our resources more widely in the community. I wish Susanne Bennett all the best as she takes over Christine's role as coordinator.

I would also like to commend Larissa Montgomery for the many years she spent as the Environmental Officer of Benalla Rural City and thank her for the support and advice she gave to BSFG over that time. In recent times, Larissa worked extensively with REB to help them formulate their vision and action plans. We wish her well in her new position with DELWP.

Finally, I again wish to thank, and congratulate a number of members who have contributed greatly to the work of BSFG this past year. Thankyou to all committee members for your open and frank discussions in organising events, formulating submissions, and in keeping records, handling finances, sending out messages. Thanks to Ian Herbert for again editing and publishing our newsletter (and to all who have contributed articles), and we also thank Ian for his efforts in putting together the program for the Swanpool Environmental Film Festival (Sat 19th June) which we all eagerly anticipate, after the disruption of 2020.

In this era, no organisation could successfully reach out to its community without the assistance of technology, and we owe a great deal of gratitude over the past 6 years to Bev Lee and Peter Maddock especially, and more recently to Heath Whiley, Kim Lukey and Karen Nankervis, for the marvellous BSFG and REB websites, where events are publicised, interesting articles are posted and reports archived."
 
Peter Holmes
​Thursday 27 May 2021

Dear BSFG Members and Supporters,

We would like to invite you to attend our AGM, with guest speaker Dr Lisa Farnsworth, Winton Wetlands Restoration Ecologist.

The meeting is at 7:30pm Thursday 27th May in the Benalla Uniting Church Fellowship Room. Supper will be served at the conclusion of the evening.

For any of our supporters considering joining BSFG, please come along; you can join up at the meeting and would be most welcome. 

BSFG financial members are encouraged to consider nominating to join the committee. If you would like more information about joining the committee, either as a committee member or in any of the executive roles, please contact the current president, Peter Holmes on 0438 625 638.

Nomination forms (attached) can be scanned and emailed to bsfginc@gmail.com, or contact Peter and bring a hard copy to the AGM.

We hope to see you there.


Judy Schwarzman
Secretary BSFG 

The Benalla Food Co-op currently has just over 70 members and 118 different products. All products are chosen very carefully with environmental and ethical considerations, along with supporting local and 
With the advent of COVID 19 it became a priority to have and encourage the preferred digital method of online payment. Each member who operates the computer system has been trained up to do this. I would like to thank Tanya Walker and Peter Holmes for overseeing this transition.

A number of weeks ago I put a number of options to the committee as to how we could continue running the coop in the advent of worsening outbreaks of COVID. Each committee member contributed thoughtful and suggestive responses ranging from how we currently manage to the use of online ordering and the use of paper-bags. The majority of committee members were happy with the current procedures as long as COVID numbers remained low in Regional Victoria.

I would like to acknowledge there have been a few general members who have chosen not to shop at the food co-op during this time. Other than that, during the COVID restrictions, the food co-op has been busier than the same period of time last year, and we have had fourteen new members join the co-op, which is quite astonishing.

​If you would like to check financial statements refer to the treasurer's report (BSFG Annual Reports, when published).

I would like to thank all the duty managers and computer operators who do a wonderful job carrying out extra responsibilities. We have had a number of new members take this on.

I would like to thank Julie McPherson who has the relentless job of organising the roster, Rhona Rose who keeps you up to date on a weekly basis, Loren who sometimes takes delivery of our orders along with Sonia who takes delivery of special items such as Tradewinds and dried fruits from Mildura.

Lastly, I would like to thank all our amazing dedicated committee members, who are committed to the well being of the food co-op and for me personally are a truly wonderful group of people who offer support, make suggestions and are prepared to work through any arising issues. I am profoundly grateful to be working with you all.

Due to Covid 19 restrictions the committee has decided to conduct our AGM online this year.  The Zoom meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Thursday September 24th.

The AGM will be limited to the basic requirements of ratifying any reports and electing the new committee.  Reports will be circulated to members by email prior to the meeting.

Prior to the election of the new committee all positions will be declared vacant.  Positions available are President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary, plus four committee members.  Nominations for the new committee should be submitted to me by email by 5pm on Tuesday 22nd September. 

We will email the link for the Zoom meeting on Sunday 20th, and again after 5pm on Tuesday 22nd, listing the nominations for the committee.

We expect the AGM could be conducted withing the 40 minutes available on our Basic Zoom plan.  However, should extra time be required our meeting may be resumed by using the same Zoom link to continue the meeting again for another 40 minutes, perhaps after a short break for coffee.

Yesterday we received advice for Consumer Affairs that we need to send a Proxy form with this notice of the AGM.  We have also decided to send a Nomination form to assist with the election of Office Bearers and Committee.  We need to receive Proxy forms at least 24 hours before the meeting. These forms were attached to the email sent to members and can be sent on application if necessary.  

Last week I sent a reminder to some members about renewing their membership for 2020/21.  Only financial members can vote at the AGM.

We look forward to seeing you online for our 2020 AGM.

Peter Maddock
Secretary
0418 135 330

"Dear BSFG members and supporters

Last Thursday, BSFG conducted its 2019 AGM, at which our new committee was elected. I am both
honoured and challenged by members accepting my nomination as President for the
coming year, and extremely grateful to the other incoming members who have accepted positions
on the committee.

At the AGM, I read an extract from Richard Flanagan's speech to the large crowd at the Canberra
climate rally on Sunday 5th May. You can read his full speech by accessing the Guardian website*, and
if you do so, I hope it might inspire you to tackle the climate emergency head on!

Briefly, three comments Flanagan made stand out in my mind.

​"After May 18th it matters even more to press whoever wins to recognise this crisis is not an issue. It
is THE issue".

"I am here today to say that there is hope. That the Franklin River flows free and Adani will be
stopped. These things happen, because at a certain point enough people say there are things that
matter more than the politics of money."

"There is no power on this earth that can resist an idea whose time has come.  It is a time to act and it is for us to act. Because there is no-one else and there is no other time."

Every day in the news, I read about the arrogance of the politicians who think they have been given
a mandate to implement their climate-wrecking policies and open up new coal mines, put renewable energy projects on the back burner in favour of the fossil fuel corporations that bought them victory, and condemn our children to a world with a bleak future.

And then, I remember Flanagan's words, and it makes me more determined to do something. So I
write a letter to the paper, or I have a serious head-to-head discussion with a friend who is a
conservative voter. On my own, I might reach out to a few people, but with your collective help, we
can do so much more. Politicians will listen to a group with several hundred members, because that
is significant.

If you are one of our long time members, I thank you for your ongoing support, and encourage you
to come along to our bi-monthly meetings (4th Thursday of July, September, November, March and
May). If you are on our contact list, please consider becoming a member - $25 per year - and also
coming along to our meetings, where we try to arrange a varied array of guest speakers or films on
environmental/sustainability issues.

Please check out our website (www.bsfg.org.au) where you will find information about our action
groups, and other articles of environmental importance. There are details on the website about how
you can join BSFG, and I look forward to your support as we try to influence the political debate in
Australia around the climate emergency.

Sincerely


Peter Holmes (President)

Our AGM on Thursday 23 May went very well with all positions being filled at the elections conducted by Mayor Scott Upston.  Thank you to John Lloyd for chairing the meeting prior to the elections.

We welcome the new committee of management and thank two new members Kay and Richard for accepting nomination, Peter Holmes for accepting the President Role and Wendy for becoming the Treasurer.  And thank you to James Webster for accepting, in absentia for the position of Vice President.

President: Peter Holmes
Secretary: Peter Maddock
Treasurer: Wendy Baker
Vice President: James Webster
Committee members:  
Bulk Food Coop representative Christine Holmes and Kevin Smith, David Blore, Kay Blore, and Richard Felton.

Peter Holmes spoke about how reading an article in The Guardian by Richard Flanagan influenced his decision to nominate for President, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/may/05/im-willing-to-go-to-jail-to-stop-adani-and-save-our-beloved-country-will-you-stand-with-me.

Our guest speaker Lance Lloyd, Restoration Scientist (Aquatic Ecology), Winton Wetlands Committee of Management, gave us a good insight into efforts at Winton Wetlands to bring about the ecological regeneration of the catchment.

A reminder again that we are planning for a Newsletter in June so could you send articles to me by the end of May. 


Peter Maddock
Secretary

The 2019 Benalla Sustainable Future Group AGM will be held on Thursday May 23rd, 2019 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Room, Benalla Uniting Church, Carrier Street Benalla, opposite the Coles Car park.

Benalla Rural City Mayor Scott Upston will conduct the election of President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and at least four Committee Members.

Our guest speaker is Lance Lloyd, Restoration Scientist (Aquatic Ecology), Winton Wetlands Committee of Management who will speak to us about the Ecological Renewal of the Winton Wetlands Reserve.

The ecological renewal of the 8,750-hectare Reserve is a project of national scientific, cultural and environmental significance. Located in north east Victoria, between the regional cities of Benalla and Wangaratta, the Reserve is a mix of wetlands, grasslands, woodlands and forest.  The project is aiming to connect people to nature through its ecological renewal, as well as with education and tourism programs onsite. The project has many aspects contributing to the establishment of a site of ecological, cultural, social and economic importance.  This ecological renewal work is not a short-term project, but will take decades to be fully realised, and is aimed to enhance natural processes to ensure the restoration is sustainable in the long term.

Lance will discuss the ecological renewal aspects of the project which is built upon the Restoration and Monitoring Strategic Plan (Barlow 2011). The current science team has developed a range of specific management and monitoring plans that have been developed for fish and other fauna, waterbirds, water quality, aquatic plants, revegetation and feral animals and weeds.

The science program has undertaken multiple projects which contribute to the onsite ecological renewal of the site, and, more generally, contribute to the knowledge about wetland and woodland function and restoration.

Lance is also an Honorary Research Fellow at Federation University and has over 30 years experience in consulting, government, and university research into aquatic ecosystems and their management. Lance has a long history at the site, working there in the 1990’s with the predecessor of DELWP and the RWC (as Principal Water Quality Scientist) on the algal problems and the restoration of Lake Mokoan. He oversees the science and sustainability programs at Winton Wetlands, working with the science panel, ranger, staff and volunteers to achieve ecological renewal of the site.

Lance will speak after the business of our AGM including the election of office bearers and committee.  A light supper will be available at the end of the meeting.

I encourage you to come along to our AGM and hear about this important wetland restoration project, https://wintonwetlands.org.au

Peter Maddock (0418 135 330)
Secretary

The Annual General Meeting of Benalla Sustainable Future Group will be held at 7.30pm on Thursday 28th June at the Benalla Uniting Church, Carrier Street Benalla, opposite the Coles car park.

After accepting the minutes of the previous AGM and presentation of reports all elected positions will be declared open and there will be an election of President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary plus a minimum of four committee members and a nominated member from the Food Co-Op.

This year John Lloyd will not be accepting nominations for President nor the Committee as his work with Renewable Energy Benalla is occupying him fully.  So please give consideration to nominating for an Office Bearer or Committee position.  Contact me if you require further information about standing for a position.

Our guest speaker for the meeting is Leigh Ewbank who is the current Act on Climate coordinator for Friends of the Earth. He has also worked on the Yes 2 Renewables campaign and was very much involved with campaigning against the anti-wind farm lobby. Yes 2 Renewables was the driving force behind the campaign to restore fair wind farm laws in Victoria, and spearheaded the case for a Victorian Renewable Energy Target. Leigh has a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) from RMIT University, Melbourne. He has been engaged in climate and energy debates for years and more recently has lectured in the Urban Planning and Energy and Energy Policy and Management courses at RMIT University.

We look forward to seeing you at our 2018 AGM. 
Regards,
Peter Maddock
Secretary
0418 135 330

The BSFG AGM will be held on June 22nd, 2017 at 7.30pm in the Meeting Room, Uniting Church, Carrier Street Benalla, opposite the Coles Car park.
After accepting the minutes of the previous AGM and presentation of reports all elected positions will be declared open and there will be an election of President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary plus four committee members including a nominated member from the Food Co-Op.
Instead of a Guest speaker for the AGM this year we will be showing the 30-minute documentary Guarding the Galilee, a film about the epic fight to stop Adani’s Carmichael coal mine.  Presented by Queensland born actor Michael Caton, Guarding the Galilee is a documentary on the battle to stop the biggest coal mine in Australian history, Adani’s Carmichael project. The film features farmers, dive instructors and boat operators all concerned about the impacts that Adani’s mine would have on water resources, climate and the reef.
The award-winning documentary team capture the raw beauty of Central Queensland, where the Adani Carmichael mine threatens essential water resources.  After the screening, there will be an opportunity for discussion about what we’ve seen and what can be done to Stop Adani.
 
10 key moments so far in the fight to #stopadani
1.            February 2014, Court actions to protect the Reef
2.            May 2014, Global bank drops Adani
3.            January 2015, Voters vote for the Reef
4.            March 2015, Traditional Owners oppose Adani
5.            April 2015, Adani’s lies revealed in court
6.            August 2015, Court overturns Adani approval
7.            August 2015, Australian banks join international banks, say ‘no’ to Adani
8.            November 2015, Limits placed on dredge dumping and port expansions
9.            June 2016, Controversy over public loan and protests during Gautam Adani visit
10.          March 2017, 90 prominent Australians oppose Adani mine, delegation visits India
11.          May 2017, Queensland Government refuses to facilitate public money for Adani
 
The meeting has an opportunity to begin a local action.
3 suggested ways to take action to Stop Adani.

1. Join, start or grow a Stop Adani group in your community
2. Don’t give $1B of public money to Adani! Organise an action at your MP’s office
3. Adopt your local Westpac branch: make sure they don’t loan money to Adani. (Achieved)

On 28 April Westpac announced a new climate policy which effectively rules out financing the Adani Group's giant coal mine in Queensland's Galilee Basin.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2017 Benalla Sustainable Future Group AGM and our screening of Guarding the Galilee which is presented as part of the StopAdani campaign;

 Download Flyer                      .

The 2016 Annual General Meeting of BSFG will be held on Thursday 25th August at 7:30 pm in the Uniting Church, Carrier Street, Benalla.

Our guest speaker is John Liddell from Beyond Zero Emissions who will be speaking about BZE's Renewable Energy Super Power Report which has been produced as part of BZE's Zero Carbon Australia plan and outlines Australia’s potential to be a global renewable energy superpower of the future. Australia's economic renewable energy resources are greater than its coal, oil, gas and uranium resources combined.

The report highlights the fact that the world is transitioning to renewables and that the industrial leaders of the renewable energy era will be those countries with massive inexpensive renewable energy resources like Australia.

There will be the normal business of our Annual General Meeting before our guest speaker.  The Agenda, Minutes, Annual Report and Financial Statement will be attached to upcoming emails to members.
​
After the AGM we will send Membership Renewal reminders for 2016-17, however memberships may be renewed at the AGM.

The AGM will be followed by a light supper.  .

Peter Maddock
​Secretary