Denmark in Western Australia is the winner of the 1998 Mitsubishi Tidy Towns Award. After being a finalist three years in a row, Denmark is the first national winner from Western Australia. With a population of 4,000, the town has a very strong environmental ethos and a high degree of community involvement with 96 percent of residents participating in projects to improve the environment.
The Town’s initiatives in environmental rehabilitation, their strong commitment to historic preservation and a high involvement from youth helped secure the win. Denmark Shire’s Chief Executive Officer, Pascoe Durtanovich said the Award is a vindication of the direction the community has taken.
“Our approach has been to resist the pressure to develop at all costs,” he said. “While we have not stopped growth, we have restricted and controlled it because Council and the community highly value the natural beauty of the area.”
Phil Hurst, National Executive Director, Keep Australia Beautiful said a primary function of the awards is to educate communities about responsible environmental management.
“It is about ordinary people taking ownership of their environment rather than waiting for someone else to do it,” he said.
This year’s Awards involved more than 2,000 communities across the nation, with participants donating 3.5 million hours to the Tidy Town cause. It is estimated that the combined work of these volunteers contributes about $50 million to environmental management in Australia.
The Local Government leadership Award went to Mt Molloy in Queensland’s Shire of Mareeba.
“Mareeba’s leadership and support for projects associated with Mount Molloy’s and neighbouring towns’ Tidy Towns program is a leading example of Local Government and the community working together with a common goal – improving the environment for the current and future benefit of residents and visitors,” said Tidy Town Judge, Dick Olesinski.
Other finalists in the National Awards were Lithgow (NSW), Naracoorte (SA), Belconnen (ACT), Aputula (NT), Mirboo North (Vic), and Latrobe (Tas).
