The words with which I introduced my Financial Report to Members last year were –

“Another year of toil and trouble has slipped away, with no sign on the horizon of new adequate Funding for environmental improvement in the Mallee”

Those words are even more applicable today, with both Federal and State Governments showing little inclination of awarding new funding to extend the tremendous achievements that MMLAP and other LAPs have influenced in the past decade or so.

It is satisfying to see the results achieved to improve the environment, biodiversity and farming practices in the Mallee, many such improvements directly attributed to MMLAP work, and sad to see the reduction in funding due to shifting priorities of Governments, which may cause some of the gains made to slip away.

MMLAP again, as a considered decision, has used some of its financial reserves to “prop up” and complete projects where the funded sum was inadequate to meet the cost of delivery of the key objectives.

The planning for 2016-2017 includes the Committee objective to continue to deploy both our senior staff, despite being funded for less than 2 FTEs.

Unfortunately our part time staff member will leave us, when her work assignment is completed, in the next few weeks.

Financial Changes. There have been no changes to our banking or “operations” from a financial point of view other than an almost total swing away from paying or receiving money by cheque or cash.

Almost all transactions are now by electronic methods. This has the advantage of speed of transaction, but creates the need, for a new set of governance rules.

This is the reason for the proposal for change to our Constitution, which currently requires payments to be by cheque with two signatories. That is no longer practical.

Balance Sheet. I have again provided in the Annual Report the MMLAP Balance Sheet for two years, so that financial trend can be identified.

Interest Earnings have been at low rates again this year, but none the less interest earnings are important.

Reserves have reduced slightly during the year as a result of subsidising under funded Projects, and will reduce more during 2016-2017 due to the Committee’s decision to fund a MMLAP OWN Project (the Mallee Emu Wren Project). This is a fit and proper use, for the deployment of MMLAP funds into a very worthwhile endeavour; to re-establish a bird species, now presumed extinct in the SA Mallee.

Assets (Plant and Equipment)

Equipment Assets have been reduced in value “arbitrarily” by a depreciation percentage reduction, rather than a precise evaluation of each of the item’s possible sale value.

Depreciated Assets 2015 2016

$64,891 $50,891 (Major value, vehicles)

There have been no major Capital items purchased (or sold) during the year.

Continued next page...

Murray Mallee

Local Action Planning Association Inc.

Annual Report 2015/16