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31 MAY, 2022
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Art bridges the gap
Main: Teena Moffatt and her kids Tiannah, 9, Ryder, 4, and Jirrah, seven months. Inset: Gap Road rail bridge artwork concept. (Pictures: Andrew Noble and Rail Projects Victoria)
Yorta Yorta, Gunaikurnai and Gunditjmara artist Teena Moffatt is the Sunbury-Koorakoorakup local chosen to create an artwork on the new Gap Road rail bridge, to be constructed in June. Moffatt’s piece will be imprinted on custom-designed perforated aluminium sheeting and installed on both sides of the bridge. “To be able to do the artwork on Wurundjeri Country is a privilege, and I’m very grateful to the people who have guided me on this journey to create the artwork that is specific to the area,” Moffatt said. Moffatt was chosen from a shortlist of Victorian First Nations artists by an advisory panel, including representatives from Creative Victoria, Hume council and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. She drew inspiration from the area’s iconic volcanic plains, referencing Mount Holden, Jacksons Creek, the Organ Pipes and Rosette Rock. “My art connects my past, present and future. I do my work in honour of my grandmothers and grandfathers, my family and my bloodlines; to ensure my children feel a strong connection to their people and our traditional ways.”
Soil legal challenge fails By Elsie Lange Hume council may be forced to pay as much as $500,000 in legal costs to the state government after its Supreme Court challenge to the storage of spoil at Bulla was dismissed, a councillor estimates. The council took legal action to review a decision by Planning Minister Richard Wynne which allowed for the testing and disposal of contaminated soil at a site in Bulla. At a meeting on Monday, May 24, council voted unanimously to note the Supreme Court’s
judgment, in which Justice Melinda Richards ordered council to pay the defendant’s costs. Council also noted to make “provision for the payment of these costs in the 2022-23 council budget as necessary”, and not to pursue further action. Council told Star Weekly it could not provide a figure as Mr Wynne had not yet advised costs. However Cr Jack Medcraft said the legal challenge could cost ratepayers more than $500,000. “We were never going to win. Basically, you’re putting ratepayers’ money at risk to have
such action,” Cr Medcraft said. “As it’s turned out, we could be up for half a million dollars or more. That money could have been used in a lot of places around the city of Hume.” As reported by Star Weekly, Hume councillors voted unanimously in April 2021 to have the council’s lawyers initiate legal proceedings to review Mr Wynne’s decision. Council had estimated costs would be between $100,000 to $200,000, “but could be higher”. “If the application for a judicial review is not successful, there is a risk that the Supreme
Court could require that council pay the costs incurred by the minister for planning,” council said at the time. Cr Medcraft said he hoped Mr Wynne would decide not to recoup legal fees from the council. “Hopefully the minister decides that he’s not going to penalise us for standing up and asking questions for why he did what he did,” Cr Medcraft said. “I don’t agree with what he did, but at the end of the day, the government’s the government and they make the decisions and you have to abide by them.”
Mary-Anne Thomas MP
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LABOR MEMBER FOR MACEDON DELIVERING FOR OUR COMMUNITY
Authorised by MA Thomas, Shop 14, Nexus Centre, 9 Goode Street, Gisborne
A: Shop 14, Nexus Centre, 9 Goode Street, Gisborne, VIC 3437 P: 5428 2138 E: mary-anne.thomas@parliament.vic.gov.au MaryAnneMacedon @MaryAnneThomas maryannethomasmp
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