What is absolutely staggering about this Glen Eira Clowncil is the fact that our elected representatives actually believe they are doing a fabulous job!
The ‘community meetings’ have now been going for a week and what has come across strongly and clearly in EACH OF THESE MEETINGS is the level of dissatisfaction with: consultation processes and the fact that clowncil so often fails to even listen; inadequate local services such as drains, roads, footpaths, and most significantly the environment. At Wednesday night’s meeting several residents called the council ‘non-progressive’ when compared to other councils. Others felt that long term vision was missing on and that there had to be a total turnaround and the community consulted on what it sees as its short and long term priorities.
In answer to residents complaints about lack of action on the environment, dear Cr. Whiteside simply said ‘oh, we’ve now got an envirnment advisory committee’ with community reps. As if that was the answer to all perceived ills! Meantime, as one member of the audience pointed out, she had conveniently failed to inform the assembled that these very same community reps had absolutely no voting rights - in contrast to the two councillors!!! Her answer to complaints about ‘trees’ was ‘we’ve got a tree strategy’. Again, no consideration given to the question of whether this ’strategy’ is working, adequate, etc. etc. Simply having a nice little ‘policy’ to point to means absolutely nothing unless it is fully monitored, and evaluated, and the community has direct input into its creation and ongoing management and evaluation.
Finally, just to give people a taste of some of the comments made, I enclose one which was read out at the meeting. How ‘blind’ do you have to be to ignore the anger and the frustration contained in the following. Time to take off the rose-coloured glasses clowncillors - “As part of the planning process, I see 2 important issues that need to be addressed by you the Councillors.
1) There needs to be a complete attitudinal change by the administrative staff and Councillors towards the residents of this city. The characteristic attitude of “we know best” is an anachronism in this day and age, the 21
st Century and is causing great angst in our society. If you read the papers, log onto the web or ask anyone in the street you will get very negative reactions towards this Council from rolling the eyes and “tches” to the setting up of anti Council Groups - the friends of…. This needs to change first and foremost.
2) There needs to be a permanent Consultation Process set up so that residents’ requests or concerns that are not being addressed by the different departments, can be listened to with an unbiased, trained consultant/ mediator who can listen to both sides of the issue - the aggrieved residents and the Council’s. This could be modelled on the VCAT process. It would also allow for both parties to understand each other’s points of view and come to an agreement that is amicable to both parties. The Council needs to realize that most residents bring up issues that they are living with on a 24/7 basis and can no longer live with the situation. That’s why they contact Council with their issues.”
A bat may not see, but its radar works brilliantly. The Council Officers and Councillors radars are working brilliantly too, but like bats who flap in the night, Council will learn the same lesson as the bats. That eventually they must come home to roost and that is when they are at their most vulnerable. Election Time!
Glen Eira Residents have developed a group of Community Leaders specifically to represent their collective needs and interests in the face of Council’s neglect. It should never have been necessary to adopt such a strategy.
An ex Councillor was heard to say in answer to a question, that a positive action taken by Council was to present Awards.
If that is the sum total of his contribution in a Public Meeting celebrating the good things about Council, the residents are in strife.
A more acceptable comment may well have been that Council is being seen to be “consultative” by virtue of the fact, Council made provision to visit residents in their patch of Glen Eira. Twelve hours of public consultation over six meetings has to produce a genuine feel that the Community at long last is having their say.
The proof will be in the outcome of how consultation processes are actually matched with what residents want of their Council and what Council wants for itself. Power to the people. Its our time!
12 hours of ‘meetings’ sure sounds impressive, as it is meant to do! But not when the questions are carefully tailored, each person is granted a paltry 30 seconds at best, and there is no opportunity for questions. This is called pseudo-consultation!
But on paper it will be recorded that Glen Eira “consulted”, then they can go off and make the decision they always knew they’d make!
Dead right!