As usual this has been a busy year for the League with much work having to be done to safeguard our environment. So let me be quick to give thanks to all those who have had to bear the burden of this work and that usually means everyone to some extent or other. We know about couples in league like the Webbs in early England the Reids in early Victoria -here in Mordialloc we give especial thanks to the Rimingtons to our friends and tireless workers Frank and Mary. When I was first asked to become president of the League I accepted because I had seen that Mary did most of the work, she even seemed to enjoy writing submissions to a plethora of committees. Our heartfelt thanks to you both from all the members of the League.
We have had representatives on several committees most importantly the Kingston Foreshore policy Committee and we believe our efforts via Mary bore some fruit in the way of sensible policy decisions. Thanks are due to the team which assists Excel in monitoring changes in the growth of vegetation on the foreshore and thanks to Tony Collins for his co-operation with the League in this matter. We worked with KRAMMED to help with Kingston’s residential policy and it’s a pleasure to record our thanks to Janelle House and her team for the good work they do.
Brian and Nina Earl represented us on the Carrum Carrum Lowlands Forum which keeps a watchful eye on all matters of wetlands etc.
We were represented on the recently formed Defenders of the South East Green Wedge and even more lately by SERCHEC (Mary will tell what these letters mean). Suffice to say we have been heavily involved in efforts to keep south east lands green. In this regard we teamed with Kingston Conservation and Environment Coalition in making representations to the Minister for Planning. We did mange to see his representatives a couple of times and I once was able to press into his hands the pamphlet produced by the DOSEGW. This is the place to say thanks to Barry Ross who has been a great help and inspiration in green wedge matters and for the occasional trip to see that the Waterways people are being honest!

We made representations to the powers that be about the use of Biosolids in filling the borrow pit at the Woodlands Industrial site and helped Kingston Councilors to question the desirability of the practice. The decision of the Councilors to refuse Melbourne Water permission to use the Biosolids has led to a case before VCAT to be heard early this month. Again thanks are due to Glenda Byrne KCEC Sec. in getting us on the air at 88.3 FM to make a case against Biosolids as fill material. Glenda also enabled Mara H to make the case for preserving trees in the City of Kingston and subsequently we had Stephen Calvert-Smith appointed as our rep. on the Significant Trees committee. We hope we helped Ron and his friends on the Save Chicquita Park matter we were there in spirit at least.
I no doubt have forgotten some of the other work we have done but hope this report serves to show the league is well and actively seeking a better world for us all. Finally our thanks to Johanna van Klaveren who we claim as our environmental councillor.

Brian Pullen