Albury Council to put forward motion calling for balloon release ban at local government gathering

As part of its decision reached at its Monday, October 9 council meeting, the council proposed a motion to be considered at the Local Government NSW Conference in Sydney in November.

The motion urged Local Government NSW to call on the state government to amend the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act) to ban the release of all balloons inflated with helium or gases that cause them to rise in the air.

A proposed amendment to the act would exclude hot air balloons or balloons released for scientific purposes.

Nine submissions, most of which called for a stop to balloon releases at council events, were received during the draft policy's 28-day public exhibition, including one from No Balloon Release Australia.

Councillor Ashley Edwards said she was pleased to see the council's position on balloon releases reflected in the updated policy.

"Clearly, community expectations are that this policy to reduce single use plastic should apply to all events on council land, and that council has a role to play to stop the release of balloons through education and advocacy," she said.

"Under the revised policy, I look forward to more sustainable events being held in our city with education and support from our wonderful staff.

"I also look forward to council delegates taking our motion calling on the state government to ban balloon releases to this year's Local Government NSW conference in November and I encourage all councils to support this updated policy."

In urgent business, councillors Edwards, Jess Kellahan and Stuart Baker declared their support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament ahead of the October 14 referendum.

"AlburyCity is an active supporter of reconciliation, endorsing our first reconciliation action plan in June last year," Cr Kellahan said.

"Action 15 within the respect pillar of our reconciliation action plan states that AlburyCity calls on the Australian government to continue to demonstrate strong leadership in support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by endorsing the Uluru Statement of the Heart, establishing a process for truth telling, negotiating a treaty and reforming our constitution to enshrine a voice to parliament for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples."

Cr Edwards said she was proud to be part of a council that had unanimously supported the Uluru statement.

"I encourage our community to participate in democracy this weekend and to vote with their hearts," she said.

Cr Baker said: "On Saturday, when it's my turn to vote, I would just like to pledge that I won't vote out of fear of what could go wrong, but I will vote in hope of what may be set right."

More than 2.2 million Australians have already made their decision since early voting centres opened on October 2.

To read more stories, download The Border Mail news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: