Local Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas, has announced funding that will benefit our local schools with planned maintenance and bushfire preparation.
The State Government is investing $9.15 million to continue the Bushfire Preparedness (Vegetation) Program for another year. Hepburn and Daylesford Primary Schools and Daylesford Secondary College will receive funding to undertake essential vegetation clearance works prior to the bushfire season.
Climate change is increasing the bushfire risk. Australia’s bushfire season now lasts 130 days, up by a month over the last four decades according to CSIRO. The period is up by 11 days since the 2019 fires and the risk of fires is increasingly unstable and frequent with high intensity fires like the 2019 bushfires more likely.
The scale and devastation of bushfires seen in the 2019 black summer fires was enormous with 7.5 million hectares of eucalyptus forest burnt killing an estimated 3 billion animals  and razing 120 houses in Mallacoota.
In a separate tranch of funding, Daylesford Secondary College has been allocated a total of $55,000 including $40,000 to address high priority maintenance tasks identified in the school’s Rolling Facilities Evaluation. Daylesford Secondary is among more than 40 schools across the state to receive a boost to essential maintenance projects under the Planned Maintenance Program (PMP) established by the state government.
The funding also includes $15,000 for high priority maintenance tasks identified in the school’s Specialist Assessment to address the school’s roof issues.
The program ensures schools can undertake essential work to grounds and classrooms such as fixing roofs and windows, painting, resurfacing floors and replacing windows, as well as external landscaping works like pathways and lighting.
