8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 1/13

FREE FURNITURE

Free: one lounge suite, consists of 1 double seat and two singles, Cream coloured. one queen bed, timber, no mattress.

one washing machine, which won't be available until mid February.

All can be picked up from my place, Ph. 57842463

i am will to set up some kind of database for people willing to exchange items thatthey have been given and no longer need.

Email me at the above address and I will list them and send them out as I receivethem.

Pauline

REMINDERS

* A reminder that the Hazardous Trees grant has been extended to 28 Feb 2010.People need to submit an arborist report with their application, as well as the receiptfor works undertaken. Applications are available at the Hub.

* Women affected by the fires are welcome to come along to the “Women of theRanges” support group every Tues 9.45 – 11.45 am at the Flowerdale Hub. Womenof all ages are invited; with child care provided to allow women with young families toalso participate.

* Victorian Bushfires Remembrance Service - A service is being organised to

remember the people and communities impacted by the 2009 Victorian bushfires atSt Paul's Cathedral, cnr Flinders and Swanston Streets, Melbourne for Sunday 7thFeb 2010. The service is open to all Victorians and is timed to show support forrecovering communities who will be reflecting in their own way at local events.Anyone wishing to attend will need to be at the Cathedral at 11.45 am for the 12noon service, and should call Paul Thorn from the Victorian Bushfire Reconstructionand Recovery Authority (VBRRA) on 9092 5897.

FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION & ARTICLES ON FLOWERDALE

Due to Community Update only coming out once a month (middle of month) please goto our Flowerdale Blogspot for up to date information, events & articles on what hasbeen happening in our area. http://helpflowerdalenow.blogspot.com/

Also anyone with pictures of Prince William, Cricketers or Australia Day if you couldplease email Julie Batemn ( jbateman@y7mail.com ) or contact 0418589072 would begreatly appreciated. I would like to get as many pictures as possible to put up on ourphoto flickr site and to put in history of our area.All other photos over last 12 months you would like to share also would be great for ourarchives.

If you know of anyone who does not receive community update and would like to beadded to my database please get them to contact me on above email or phone no so Ican add them. Thankyou

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 2/13

Special Arrangements for those affected byFebruary 2009 Bushfires

The State Government's response to the bushfires thatoccurred in Victoria in February 2009 includes a range of tax relief measures.

Land transfer duty

Those persons who had their homes destroyed in the February 2009 bushfires may be entitledto relief from duty on the purchase of a replacement principle place of residence (PPR) .

Bushfire duty relief is capped at $21,970, which represents the duty that would otherwise bepayable on the value of a home worth $500,000.

In determining the availability of duty relief, the following factors will need to be considered:

Duty relief is to be confined to home owners whose PPR was destroyed in thebushfires and who are purchasing a replacement PPR.

Duty relief will not be available to people who had an investment property, holidayhome or business destroyed in the bushfires.

Duty relief will not be available on the building of a replacement home on an existingsite. This is because no stamp duty is payable in such circumstances.

The new dwelling being purchased must be to replace a previous PPR destroyed in thebushfires, and the person must intend to reside in a dwelling on the land as a PPR.

If the person purchases vacant land, there must be an intention to build a dwelling onthe land which will be the personal PPR, and which will replace their previous PPRdestroyed in the bushfires.

Duty relief will only be available for one replacement PPR for any owner during a 2year timeframe.

The duty relief is aimed at alleviating the stamp duty burden of purchasing a new home in anew location. Accordingly, it does not extend to the refunding of stamp duty previously paidon a home destroyed in the bushfires and which is to be rebuilt.

Motor vehicle duty

A full or partial exemption from duty is available to residents of the affected areas who arereplacing vehicles destroyed in the February 2009 bushfires.

The exemption from duty can only be claimed for the 2 year period from 28 February 2009 to28 February 2011 and applies to vehicles upon registration or transfer of registration. Theexemption also extends to vehicles that have been donated to bushfire victims.

The exemption only applies to those affected by the February 2009 bushfires who are naturalpersons and who are registering or transferring registration of vehicles as the acquirer,whether by donation or purchase.

The new vehicle must be registered in the same name as the destroyed vehicle, however, if the previous owner is now deceased, the replacement vehicle may be registered in the nameof another family member.

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 3/13

The maximum duty benefit is up to $1050, which represents the duty otherwise payable on:

the registration of a new vehicle up to the value of $42,000, the registration of a second-hand vehicle up to the value of $26,200, and the transfer of registration on a vehicle up to the value of $26,200. In circumstances where a victim has already purchased a motor vehicle and paid duty

to VicRoads , the purchaser will need to apply to the SRO for a refund of duty.

Land tax

Land tax for the 2009 tax year will be waived for any property, residential or commercial(including an investment property/rental property), which was destroyed or substantiallydamaged in the February 2009 bushfires such that the property is totally uninhabitable and/orno income can be derived from the property (Category 1).

For any other situations, tax for the 2009 tax year may be waived on a case by case basis.This includes any property, residential or commercial (including investment properties/rentalproperties/holiday homes), which was not destroyed but damaged in such a way that no

income is being derived from the property.

The above tax waiver does not apply to corporate taxpayers with total land holdingsexceeding $4.4 million.

Land tax will also be waived for the 2009 tax year where a property is used to provide rent-free accommodation for bushfire affected individuals for more than six months (whether ornot continuously) through an independent party, for example Red Cross. Where suchaccommodation is provided for less than six months, tax is waived in proportion to the periodof accommodation provided.

Relief application

The SRO will identify the affected land for taxpayers in Category 1 above so that they neednot have to apply for relief. All other taxpayers seeking relief are required to complete theLand Tax Relief Application Form but further evidence to verify the relief claim may berequired at a later date.

Payroll tax

The SRO has adopted a flexible approach towards payroll tax payment arrangements foremployers affected by the bushfires. Such employers should contact 13 21 61 to discussappropriate payment arrangements. The SRO may consider and recommend relief only on acase by case basis. Employers seeking relief are required to apply in writing with detailedexplanations of their circumstances and reasons for relief.

Furthermore, from 1 November 2006 payments to employees who are absent from work tovolunteer as fire fighters, or to respond to other emergencies, are exempt from payroll tax.

The payroll tax exemption applies to employers who provide emergency workersvolunteering for organisations such as the Country Fire Authority, the State EmergencyService, St Johns Ambulance, Red Cross, Volunteer Coast Guards and Life Saving Victoria.

The exemption will not apply if those employees are away on official leave (e.g. recreation,annual, long service or sick leave).

Recovery of tax arrears

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 4/13

The SRO has also adopted a flexible approach for the recovery of tax arrears for persons andbusinesses affected by the February 2009 bushfires.

Taxpayers that have been affected by the bushfires and are unable to pay their tax arrearsshould contact the SRO to discuss their particular situations. The SRO will offer thesetaxpayers more favourable payment arrangements and will consider further relief on a caseby case basis.

The Whittlesea Country Music Festival will be held on 12, 13 and 14 February. For moreinformation please visit www.whittleseacountrymusicfestival.com.au

RELATIONSHIP COUNSELLING

Available in Whittlesea Thursdays and Fridays

Family Works provides relationship counselling and support services to couples and their

families who have been affected by the bushfires in the Whittlesea Township andsurrounding areas.

The aim is to help couples and their families to improve and strengthen their relationships,and work through relationship difficulties they may be experiencing.

Preeti Helena, Family Relationship Counsellor, is in Whittlesea Thursdays and Fridays basedin Churches on Church.

For more information and to make an appointment, please call the Family WorksBroadmeadows office on (03) 9355 4700.

WOMEN GATHERING AFTER THE FIRES

Workshops for women’s groups

Women from areas affected by the 2009 fires are invited to apply for small grants to startnew women’s groups or to support existing groups.

Funds can be used for food, transport, child care, venues, equipment or as needed.

Workshops are being held throughout fire affected areas including Whittlesea, Alexandraand Healesville as part of the grant application process.

The Healesville workshop will be held on 25 February. Other workshops will be held inMarch and April.

For an application form or more information please call (03) 5722 3009, emailwhealth@whealth.com.au or visit

www.whealth.com.au/women_gathering_after_fires.html

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 5/13

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 6/13

BACK TO SCHOOL STATIONERY PACKS

The Material Aid Centre at Pheasant Creek has Back to School Stationery packs.

The centre is located at 5 Oldfield Road, Pheasant Creek and is open Tuesday to Saturdayfrom 9am to 5pm.

Flowerdale Playgroup Is startng again on

Wednesday 10th February

Welcome back games dayIncluding many prizes

There are many great activities planned for term one including a swimming day,cooking, discovery day and a return trip from Helen to run Rhythm and Beat

(in term 1 or 2)10 am - 12 30 at the Flowerdale Community Hall

$2 per family bring a piece of friut to share

Please pick up an enrolment form for 2010 from the store in early Feb

SCHOLARSHIPSI just wanted to let you know about some more scholarships that are available forbushfire-affected people. We struggle to keep across the different scholarships on offerat any given time, however there is now a website summarising some of them:https://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/scholarships/ ranging from Year 4 to Tertiary.

Some are specific to gender, courses or industries / sectors, although the VBAF oneprobably applies to most people around here doing tertiary studies. It's available forthree years, and is valued at $15,000 per year for the duration of the course, subject tosatisfactory progress.

I believe this is in addition to the APCET (Australian Council for Private Education & Training) Education & Training Fund, which is a range of partial and full scholarshipsacross a variety of fields. We have brochures about this one, but I assume it's alsoavailable from www.acpet.edu.au

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 7/13

MEDIA RELEASELandcare Fire Recovery Project – Fences WithoutBoundaries‘Fences Without Boundaries ’ is a fire recovery project run bythe Upper Goulburn Landcare Network. Using teams of enthusiastic volunteers from corporate business, including the National Australia Bankand CPA Australia, the Landcare Network has been able to remove many kilometres of burnt and damaged fences in the Flowerdale and Glenburn area.Volunteers under the supervision of the Upper Goulburn Landcare Network have beenremoving trailer loads of wire, star pickets and posts from properties affected by the BlackSaturday fires.Usually office bound, the volunteers have been enjoying the outdoor work and theopportunity to help with the fire recovery in a very practical way.

For more information on volunteering to assist with landcare fire recovery projects or if you are a land owner that would like to enquire about the possibility of assistance;contact Chris Cobern Landcare Coordinator Fire Recovery on 5736 0104.Chris CobernLandcare Coordinator Fire RecoveryUpper Goulburn Landcare Network

-

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 8/13

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 9/13

Flowerdale Carols by Candelight

The Flowerdale Carols by Candelight held on 20 th December by the Hall Committee was ahuge success and enjoyed by the community.The children all met santa and were all given a present and lollies which brought lots of joyto them.Also we had an extra bonus for the children dvd’s supplied by the Apex Clu b of Berowra

which was much appreciated.

Other people who need to be thanked for making this night a great success are:Mick & Dev HoganSimone KirstenKarin Van de ValkJohn LearyNatalie BoyleGrace Church BandRickie Nuske

Yea Rotary Club for cooking bbqSantaSorry if there are people on list who may not be acknowledged but would like to thank allinvolved for all the kind and supportive people who have been involved for their generositywithout which, this night would not be the success that it was.Also thankyou to the Flowerdale Community who supported this event.

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 10/13

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 11/13

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 12/13

8/14/2019 Interim Flowerdale Community Update

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interim-flowerdale-community-update 13/13