Georges Riverkeeper General Meeting - June 2023

In attendance were the Georges Riverkeeper team, Georges Riverkeeper Chairperson, Cr. George Barcha (Fairfield City Council), Georges Riverkeeper Second Vice Chairperson, Cr. Stephen Nikolovski (Sutherland Shire Council), and Georges Riverkeeper Treasurer, Cr. Peter Mahoney (Georges River Council) as well as Wollondilly Shire Council Mayor, Matt Gould.

In addition, Councillor representatives including Cr. Michael Banasik, Cr. Masud Khalil, Cr. Kevin Lam, Cr. David Walsh, number of council officers from our member Councils and numerous community representatives were there.

During the meeting, the Georges Riverkeeper team provided updates on their ongoing programs and grant projects. The Treasurer also presented the financial reports, ensuring transparency and accountability.

One of the highlights of the meeting was a presentation by Alexa McCauley, a consultant from Civille, and Robert Dixon from Georges Riverkeeper. They discussed the Georges River Litter Prevention Strategy, which sparked a lot of discussion regarding the next steps to address this important issue.

In addition to the updates, the meeting included an overview of recent achievements. The Georges Riverkeeper Workplan for 2023/24 and the associated budget were presented and received unanimous endorsement from the committee.

Two significant topics that generated considerable interest were synthetic fields and the potential microplastic/synthetic rubber crumb problems associated with them. Another important point of discussion was the conservation of shorebirds in the lower estuary and bay. Georges Riverkeeper will meet with Bayside Council firstly to discuss this topic and scope, resources required, other Councils’ interests, and timeframes required for a Shorebird protection plan.

The meeting concluded with the scheduling of the next General Committee Meeting on 17 August 2023 at Fairfield City Council.