Description of the project:
Design and feasibility study of the Bridge to Bridge concept of the Echuca Murray River frontage between the two Murray River Bridges.

The objective of this initiative is the development of a vision and design concept for the development and redevelopment of the Echuca River Frontage between the two existing bridges that cross the river. The construction of the new Echuca -Moama Bridge in 2022 has created a second bookend along the stretch of Murray River Frontage from its location to the older steel bridge – Bridge to Bridge.

This stretch is integral to the history of the Echuca township and remains the primary river focussed tourism, recreation retail and entertainment precinct. It includes an eclectic range of uses including caravan park, boat ramp and picnic areas, private and commercial houseboat moorings, the historic Echuca Port Precinct, and Council assets including the library, Council offices, Council chamber and Law Courts. It also includes Aquatic Reserve, a river side open space precinct, and the historic pump house and car park. The area also contains stretches of levee bank that form part of the flood mitigation and protection of the town, along with areas of environmental significance.

Council has a vision to see this entire stretch developed as an integrated Civic, Arts and Tourism Precinct that leverages and enhances its existing assets whilst providing a premier tourist destination that also meets community needs.

Key issues include:
1. Range of different private and public uses with different needs and objectives.
2. Areas of high activity and infrequently visited areas.
3. Lack of coherent pedestrian connectivity.
4. Future use of the historic pump house.
5. Council needs for a new administrative offices and Council chambers.
6. Accommodating the ongoing operation of Court Services in Echuca as part of the Civic Precinct.
7. Need for a civic event/meeting space.
8. Integrating and activating uses either side of the Historic Port (note that the port precinct is not part of the scope of the project)
9. Making the precinct attractive and desirable for the entire community and visitors, reflecting different demographics and life stages.
10. Integrating the river front and activities into the town, particularly along the Historic High Street and also the local retail precinct along Hare Street.
11. Enhancing integration and engagement with the river
12. Maintenance of historic buildings and character as well as flood protection infrastructure

Project Outcomes:

1. Design led inquiry and assessment of the existing conditions, opportunities and challenges.

2. Identification and articulation of a vision for the precinct.

3. Precinct concept/master plan for entire Bridge to Bridge precinct including objectives and key interventions to realise the plan.

4. Identification of options including a preferred option for the use of the Historic Pumphouse that contributes to the precinct vision including consideration of its suitability as a civic/events space.

5. Development of a business case for preferred option for use of the Pump House.

6. Design concept including location for a civic/administration/function centre within the precinct

7. Consideration and concept design and business case for the aquatic reserve/pump house precinct to integrate with the river and wider precinct including enhancing public access and experience.

Description of the project:
Fonterra contracts with external suppliers for warehouse and transport services to deliver products to our factories and customers. The external providers work within their own information management systems, with warehouses having interfaced integrations to the Fonterra SAP system. The absence of integration with carriers generates significant manual interventions (email & phone calls) and creates a range of challenges such as in ability to (1) view actual Proof of Delivery (POD) documents, (2) track the status of an issue, enquiry or delivery and/or (3) access critical data which can be lost in Email trails, or information is unknown.

The outcome of this project would be to establish a portal through which Fonterra’s carriers can share specific information in a timely manner without the need for manual interventions. The Logistics Portal (Australia) will provide a solution for all Fonterra Australia logistics stakeholders (including 3rd Party carriers, 3PL Warehouse staff, Fonterra Transport Planners, Customer Service and Claims teams) to collaborate and engage electronically, with the aim to simplify communication, increase engagement, reduce wasted time and effort and simplify access to business-critical information currently being lost and embedded within email.

Description of the project:
The dairy processing facility at Stanhope currently manufactures a range of hard cheese varieties for local and export markets in addition to ricotta, milk powders and AMF. Our factories depend on water and given water use at Stanhope can be significant we want to ensure our water use is as efficient as possible.
We would also like to see all the nutrition from the milk we collect from farm make it into the products we sell. Process losses to drain will occur meaning some milk, nutrients and residues from clean-in-place activities can end up in our wastewater system. Fonterra has made a commitment to reduce water use by 15% by 2030 and whilst the Australian business is on track to meet this target there are further opportunities still to be explored to optimise water use.
The project scope is likely to include the following tasks:
* verify the site water balance and P&IDs for different process/manufacturing areas
* review water improvement projects completed in the past 2 years
* review the drain loss system to understand how drain losses are monitored, map where losses are coming from and the impact it has on the lagoon system and associated irrigation impacts.

The project would require input from a range of multi-disciplinary engineering and science students with the project scope likely to include the following outcomes:
* identify make recommendations for improvement and oversee the installation (time permitting) of any missing metering, instrumentation or data requirements within manufacturing areas or for the site drain loss system
* preparation of a draft Water Improvement Plan summarising the risks, constraints and activities that will help the site to reach its water and wastewater stewardship goals.

Description of the project:
Review the Lactalis Australia GHG emission reduction plan and identify new opportunities for on-farm projects to reduce GHG emissions long term.
Analyse proposed on-farm projects to be implemented across our supplier base.
Review current market solutions across a number of on-farm focus areas, engage with vendors, analyse and propose best solutions.
Work with the Lactalis owned farm towards implementation of agreed solutions.

Proposal for both short term and long term projects to be implemented on farm to reduce GHG emissions.
Cost/benefit analysis to Lactalis and farm suppliers.