With winter here, the lack of firewood collection points in Moira Shire is again a burning issue.
State Member for Northern Victoria Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell used Question Time in State Parliament recently to put further pressure on Victorian Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos to create collection points in the Moira local government area.
In her question to Mr Dimopoulos, Mrs Tyrrell sought an explanation as to why there was not a single firewood collection point in Moira Shire.
“Moira Shire is 4045 square kilometres in size, and yet there is not one firewood collection point in the entire LGA for residents to get the wood they need to heat their homes and cook their meals,” Mrs Tyrrell said.
“What the minister fails to understand is that many Moira residents use wood as their main source of energy generation, and he needs to explain why the people are being ignored on this issue.”
In a follow up question, Mrs Tyrrell asked Mr Dimopoulos if he will take action to make firewood more accessible for Moira residents before the end of the collection season on Monday, June 30.
“Many residents must undertake a more than three-hour round trip to their closest collection point at Warrenbayne to get the wood they need,” Mrs Tyrrell said.
“This is unacceptable, particularly for older residents, and I call on the minister to act to help Moira residents before the collection season ends at the end of June.”