Unfortunately, we’ve experienced some technical issues with getting pet registration notices sent out in time. Pet owners in the Shire should start to receive notices in the mail from Monday 20 April. Payment is due on Monday 1 June 2026.
Climate change requires us to think differently about our future to better understand the risks we may face and what we can do to adapt and build greater resilience to change. Acting sooner rather than later reduces risk, reduces costs associated from not being prepared, and assists our future liveability.
The long lifetime of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere means that its climate warming effect responds to a reduction in CO2 emissions only gradually, over many years, and this is one of the many reasons Council has prioritised both climate mitigation - the reduction of greenhouse gases from our own operations and the broader community - and adaptation measures to the climate change impacts we are already experiencing such as increased flood, storm, fire-risk and heatwave incidents.
In recent years a strong focus on reducing greenhouse gases has seen excellent results for Council's efforts. Since the commencement of the Sustainable Hepburn strategy in 2022 we have seen a 40.4 per cent reduction in corporate emissions, and a consistent ~10 per cent per year reduction in community-wide emissions through the Hepburn Z-NET initiative of which Council is one of the driving organisations along with local community partner Hepburn Energy, and of course the many residents and local community group members that have helped guide and implement climate action initiatives.
Despite these positive results, we need to prepare for a changing climate and more extreme weather. This is where climate adaptation and resilience come into play, and Council and our partners across the community have been implementing a number of measures and initiatives to build greater resilience to climate impacts. This includes future-proofing our own operations and assets, and continuing to connect and work together with our local community so that we can better support each other when faced with challenges.
Irrespective of tipping points, climate change adaptation efforts will be less costly and disruptive to society, and will stand a better chance of success, if warming can be limited to 1.5°C rather than 2°C or higher as currently projected based on global greenhouse gas reduction efforts.
"Climate change has been described by the World Health Organization (2015) as the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century. The unfolding climate crisis requires an immediate response to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of Victorians, now and into the future."
Dr Brett Sutton, MMBS MPHTM, FAFPHM, FRSPH, FACTM, MFTM Victorian Chief Health Officer