In presenting this Annual Report as President of LEHIA, I am proud to state that the Houseboat Industry at Lake Eildon builds World Class Houseboats which are amongst the most Environmentally Friendly whilst providing many Local Jobs in a Rural Area.
In making this claim and with the many reports, initiatives and studies that the Industry has been involved in, we have demonstrated that the Houseboat Industry is a Responsible Corporate Citizen. Gone is the perception that we were an Industry of cowboys.
The most important Government Policy impacting on the Houseboat Industry has been the remaking of the Lake Eildon Houseboat Regulations which permit houseboats to be on Lake Eildon.
After the debacle that took place in 2013, this time the staff at DELWP/DEECA Rural Water Policy Department put in place a process that embraced and respected the knowledge, expertise, experience and passion of the Houseboat Industry Members. LEHIA proactively engaged in this process, in a positive manner, because we wanted the best outcome for the Industry and Houseboat Owners whilst ensuring the magic of Lake Eildon could be there for generations to come.
After all the previous expensive Grey Water Treatment Systems were found lacking, this process led to our industry members coming up with the Lake Eildon Comprehensive Grey Water Solution. We are so fortunate to have the brilliant minds and expertise of local members Aiden Gale & John Gysberts who have come up with the Lake Eildon Solution.
I quiet often make the statement that when we respect each other and work together, we all WIN. This is a great example.
The Houseboat Industry is indebted to Aiden & John. Further, we are also indebted to Paul Williams who volunteered his houseboat “Imagine” to have the Lake Eildon Solution installed on his houseboat to enable in situ testing. This has been invaluable. This system has been working successfully on Imagine for over 9 months. We are now waiting on the results of recent testing of the output of this system by a Monash University team engaged by DEECA.
This Lake Eildon Solution has been an important piece of the jigsaw as the new Lake Eildon Houseboat Regulations were being drafted.
The new Lake Eildon Houseboat Regulations were signed off by the Minister for Water and came into effect in June 2024.
As part of the Houseboat Stakeholders Working Group, LEHIA was very much involved in not only providing input and feedback but also in sharing relevant information to enable the houseboat community a better understanding of the possible impacts on the water quality and the subsequent possible health risks to Lake users.
The new Lake Eildon Houseboat Regulations in regard to Grey Water Discharge from houseboats will require newly built houseboats (2027) and Commercial Hire Houseboats (2034) to instal a Comprehensive Grey Water Treatment System when a system is approved.
All existing houseboats will have 9 years to have a Licensed Plumber instal a Grease Trap under their sinks. This length of time is provided to enable houseboat owners to instal the Grease Trap when they next slip their houseboat.
The feedback provided by Paul Williams on Imagine is that the water is cleaner with a reduction in scum surrounding the houseboat since the system has been installed. With this knowledge, it is hoped that houseboat owners will consider installing at least the Grease Traps sooner rather than later for their own benefit and peace of mind as it will provide cleaner water around your houseboat and lower the risk probability of family members becoming unwell.
Supporting this, houseboat owners are also encouraged to use environmentally friendly soaps, detergents and cleaning materials as well as adopting good cleaning processes by wiping fat and grease from dishes and BBQs with paper towels and placing them in your rubbish bins. Every bit helps and we all have a responsibility to do the right thing.
All this will help in keeping our beautiful happy place, magical Lake Eildon, special for our children and grandchildren in years to come.
I would like to Thank the DEECA Rural Water Team (Mike, Leonnie, Bonnie, Amy, Lizzie, Greg & Toni) for the manner in which they conducted the process of remaking the Lake Eildon Houseboat Regulations. Having been involved in many consultation processes this process to me has been Best Practice in engagement with stakeholders and coming up with a way forward that is owned by all and will lead to improvements over the journey.
Over the last 12 months LEHIA has been working closely with Murrindindi Shire Council. LEHIA members have expressed concerns with attracting staff and then finding suitable accommodation.
Murrindindi Council has been proactive with seeking support for Key Worker Housing as there are other industries locally also experiencing these concerns.
Training Staff locally has been a long-term issue for the Houseboat Industry. LEHIA supported Murrindindi Council’s application for a Tertiary Education Hub in Murrindindi.
Murrindindi Council understands the potential for Recreation and Tourism at Lake Eildon and the benefits it can deliver to our communities, consequently, they have been most supportive and pro-active of the Lake Eildon Master Plan / Activating Lake Eildon. Murrindindi Council has submitted a substantial Grant Application to the Federal Government Regional Precincts & Partnership Program.
This will be a Game Changer for this district and deliver much needed infrastructure which will open the door for substantial Private Investment. This includes a sewerage pipeline from Jerusalem Creek to the GVW Eildon Treatment Plant. This will be a big positive for the houseboat industry at that end of the Lake. LEHIA has been most supportive of this process.
The State Government Policy of closing down the Native Timber Harvesting Industry has had significant impacts on the local economy and the community. The Murrindindi Shire has been funded to seek outcomes that will overcome these impacts. LEHIA has participated in the “Shaping Murrindindi’s Future Project” to ensure the Lake Eildon Master Plan and Houseboating is considered as part of this process.
Murrindindi Council was contacted by the Producers of “Country House Hunters” on Channel 9 with Catriona Rowntree. With our contacts at Murrindindi Council, LEHIA was contacted to participate to highlight Lake Eildon and Houseboating. This is a national program and went to air last Friday evening. A big Thank You to Joe Goodall for making Saffire available. To say that Catriona and her crew were impressed would be a gross understatement. To top it off it was a beautiful day to be out on our magical Lake. This provided national exposure for the quality of houseboats on Lake Eildon and the magical Lake we love.
Finding people to work in the Industry and finding Apprentices is always a challenge. LEHIA participated in the Murrindindi Jobs Expo in Alexandra. One of the benefits was networking with Job Provider Agencies and making them aware of the careers available in the houseboat industry. Whilst at the Jobs Expo, we were able to have discussions with Nicky from the CRLLEN and seek their support for another Immersion Day. A big Thank You to Phil Gourlay from Anchorage Houseboats who represented the Industry on the Panel Discussions.
Whilst talking about jobs and careers, the BIA Vic see this as an important issue and appointed Dan Brown as Manager of Education & Training Skills. Dan has been introduced to the opportunities at Eildon. The BIA Vic has a web site for advertising Marine Jobs. Dan’s work has been greatly appreciated.
Dan is part of the BIA Vic Team so well led by Steve Walker. The BIA Vic continues to be a great assistance to our Industry especially with representations at Ministerial level and senior bureaucrats like at Better Boating Victoria.
This relationship with BIA Vic was demonstrated with them inviting Minister Dimopoulos (Minister for Outdoor Recreation including Boating; Tourism & Special Events; Environment) to Lake Eildon recently. With the short time frame made available with the Minister and then making the most of the opportunity the meeting took place on Daved Lambert’s houseboat as we travelled out past the Breakwater and then back to the EBC Welcome Dock. During this hour, we presented a number of opportunities and issues to the Minister.
The Minister as Minister for the Environment was also shown the Lake Eildon Solution Comprehensive Grey Water System on the houseboat Imagine.
This enabled me to make the following statement to the Minister, “The Houseboat Industry at Lake Eildon builds World Class Houseboats which are amongst the most Environmentally Friendly whilst providing many Local Jobs in a Rural Area”.
The Minister appeared to be impressed with this statement. He made note that it was a first for him to have a presentation on a houseboat in such a beautiful place. The Minister’s minders were relieved when we returned to the Welcome Dock as they were afraid, we would keep the Minister captive out on the Lake all day. The Minister will certainly remember his visit to Eildon and hopefully our presentation.
Thank you to Scott and Steve from the BIA Vic and Daved Lambert for making his houseboat available, without your support the Ministerial visit would not have taken place.
LEHIA worked closely with GMW staff as part of the Stakeholder Working Group journey in forming the new Lake Eildon Houseboat Regulations. Exciting news with GMW has been the appointment of a new General Manager for Water Storage Services in Alan Shea. As LEHIA President, I recently met with Alan and was fortunate to have around 2.5hours with Alan. I found Alan to be a breath of fresh air from GMW. Alan was introduced to houseboating at Lake Eildon and viewed the Lake Eildon Solution Comprehensive Grey Water System on Imagine and a houseboat under construction in the Anchorage Factory. Alan was made aware of a number of challenges and opportunities facing the houseboat industry. Alan was made aware of the great opportunities embodied in the Lake Eildon Master Plan / Activating Lake Eildon. Alan left with reading material to assist him in understanding the importance of Recreation & Tourism at Lake Eildon.
Alan expressed a desire to know more and meet with industry members. This is being organized. I was very impressed with Alan and believe we have a great opportunity to build a great and respectful relationship with Alan & GMW moving forward.
An important avenue to State Government for Economic Development opportunities is the Goulburn Regional Partnership. This group held one of their recent meetings at Lake Eildon. As President of LEHIA, I was invited to present to their meeting on the houseboat industry and opportunities and challenges at Lake Eildon. Importantly, I was able to show them through the Houseboat Factories and onto a recently built houseboat. This was an important meeting as they have understood some of our challenges and opportunities. A previous visit a couple of years back led to the Lake Eildon Master Plan.
The Sandblasting of Pontoons on houseboats had been undertaken in a very similar manner for around 50 years. During this year these practices were brought to the attention of the EPA. Initially this caused great concern however this led to changes in the practices to meet the standards expected today. Change can be frustrating especially after such a long period; however, I would like to commend the businesses involved for their attitude in embracing the changes required by the EPA. This to me is a sign of the maturity of the industry. Some people have seen the benefits from the changes and others have expressed to me that it was most probably not before time.
It is important for a professional Industry to have a bright inviting front door. These days it is your website. The original LEHIA website served the industry well, but it was overdue for an upgrade. Thanks to the support from the Executive, we were able to engage James Anderson from Turbo Productions and Lakeeildon.com to revamp the website. With James knowledge, expertise and photo catalogue of Lake Eildon we now have a fresh, vibrant and inviting front door website.
One of the important parts of this is the services to LEHIA Members with the Members Directory. This Members Directory enables you to tell the story of your business. These benefits enable your listing to also list on the Lakeeildon.com Directory at no extra charge and for Teena to share on the LEHIA Facebook page and then shared onto other pages like Lake Eildon Info.
Plus, with my business I am always asked, who should I contact for a job on my houseboat; I always refer them to LEHIA Members. If you require assistance to update your member Listing, please contact Teena. The new website will make it a lot easier for Teena to update information on the LEHIA website.
Whilst mentioning Teena, a big Thank You for your Admin Support over the last 12 months. Having Teena there not only for minutes and agendas but also handling all the other information has enabled LEHIA to function. Thank You Teena.
Also Thank You to the LEHIA Executive team of Darren, Paul & Aiden for your support and input. It has been greatly appreciated. Continually receiving emails and asking for comment and approval can be a bit overwhelming at times. Thank You for your support.
A Thank You to EBC for providing a venue for our meetings and tonight catering for the AGM & Nibbles.
We look forward to another vibrant season at Lake Eildon. With the Lake hovering at around 90% of Capacity with Spring Rains to come, we are assured of good water for Recreation and Boating for the coming season. There is concern about the Economy and what if any impact on our Industry. Through my business, for this time of the year, enquiry is still good and to me it reflects what it was like before Covid-19.
However, after listening to a recent BIA Vic presentation on the State of the Industry, it provided me with a positive outlook. Consequently, I thought it would be good if you had the opportunity to hear this information as well. So, I have invited Steve Walker, CEO of BIA Vic to be our guest this evening. Welcome Steve.
In finishing up this President’s report there are three points to leave you with: –
(i) When we respect that we are in competition with each other and then work together we all win. The evidence is we have never been busier.
(ii) Our journey over the last few years, especially with the remaking of the Lake Eildon Houseboat Regulations, demonstrates as an Industry we are a good responsible Corporate Citizen. This is most important.
(iii) As an Industry we should be very proud as we build World Class Houseboats that are amongst the most Environmentally Friendly Houseboats in the World whilst providing many rewarding jobs in this Rural Area.
Love Lake Eildon
Mike Dalmau
President
LEHIA
29-08-2024