Community Meeting
About 50 people attended a fantastic community meeting in Sunshine Uniting Church Conference Centre
Cr. Rose Iser, President of the Victorian Local Governance Association spoke articulately about the suspension of Council and ways in which the VLGA could offer support to our community.
Bill Scales answered a huge number of very important questions that residents had and there was a critical discussion about how Brimbank has ended up in this situation and the reasons why residents have not got leaders that have the capacity for leadership and governance that we require and are demanding of our respresentatives.
Colleen Hartland MLC chaired this meeting and facilitated a high level of discussion and debate that clearly showed the need for Council to support opportunities for community members to develop leadership and governance skills through community controlled committees of management at local sporting clubs, neighbourhood houses, kindergartens and the like
The community also expressed the need for councils administrators and executive to genuinely consult and engage withour community
Showing posts with label Bill Scales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Scales. Show all posts
26.10.09
21.9.09
ALGA thinks Scales Report deserves closer scrutiny
The ALGA President Geoff Lake says "The decision this week to sack Brimbank Council is the second time since the Bracks/Brumby government came to power in 1999 that a council in Victoria has been dismissed. Since the release in May of an Ombudsman's report about the conduct of the previous councillor group at Brimbank, there has been widespread criticism of the council. NSW has its Wollongong and now, it seems, Victoria has its Brimbank. Both have become emblematic of what are the most rotten elements associated with government at the local level.
However, this week's report by Municipal Inspector, Bill Scales, recommending that Brimbank now be sacked deserves closer scrutiny. Scales was appointed in the immediate aftermath of the Ombudsman's report and was tasked with monitoring the conduct of the new group of councillors elected last November. The report cites four reasons to justify why the council should be sacked: an attempt by a councillor to have a parking fine reviewed, the leaking of confidential information, councillor conduct and an attempt by an outside organisation to influence councillors. The evidence supporting each reason is surprisingly weak given the severity of the conclusion that the council ought to be sacked and also given Scales' considerable experience (he once headed the Victorian Public Service).
However, it is the inclusion of the fourth and final reason that is the most breathtaking: the undue influence of an external organisation. This refers to a letter sent openly to councillors by a local branch of a political party expressing a view on an issue which is still to be considered by the council. There's nothing at all remarkable with a person or organisation writing to express a view on a council issue. Such representations occur every day in every council across the country. It is what democratic process is all about - the contest of ideas and the lobbying of decision makers. To suggest that this letter amounts to undue influence and a matter for which the council is itself accountable is bizarre and displays one of the most naïve conceptions of the local government environment that I have seen.
Viewed either individually or together, the reasons cited to support sacking the council are glaringly inadequate. There may well be grounds to support sacking the council, but this report does not demonstrate them. If there was a capacity for judicial review of this decision, I have no doubt a court would tear the report to shreds."
The ALGA President Geoff Lake says "The decision this week to sack Brimbank Council is the second time since the Bracks/Brumby government came to power in 1999 that a council in Victoria has been dismissed. Since the release in May of an Ombudsman's report about the conduct of the previous councillor group at Brimbank, there has been widespread criticism of the council. NSW has its Wollongong and now, it seems, Victoria has its Brimbank. Both have become emblematic of what are the most rotten elements associated with government at the local level.
However, this week's report by Municipal Inspector, Bill Scales, recommending that Brimbank now be sacked deserves closer scrutiny. Scales was appointed in the immediate aftermath of the Ombudsman's report and was tasked with monitoring the conduct of the new group of councillors elected last November. The report cites four reasons to justify why the council should be sacked: an attempt by a councillor to have a parking fine reviewed, the leaking of confidential information, councillor conduct and an attempt by an outside organisation to influence councillors. The evidence supporting each reason is surprisingly weak given the severity of the conclusion that the council ought to be sacked and also given Scales' considerable experience (he once headed the Victorian Public Service).
However, it is the inclusion of the fourth and final reason that is the most breathtaking: the undue influence of an external organisation. This refers to a letter sent openly to councillors by a local branch of a political party expressing a view on an issue which is still to be considered by the council. There's nothing at all remarkable with a person or organisation writing to express a view on a council issue. Such representations occur every day in every council across the country. It is what democratic process is all about - the contest of ideas and the lobbying of decision makers. To suggest that this letter amounts to undue influence and a matter for which the council is itself accountable is bizarre and displays one of the most naïve conceptions of the local government environment that I have seen.
Viewed either individually or together, the reasons cited to support sacking the council are glaringly inadequate. There may well be grounds to support sacking the council, but this report does not demonstrate them. If there was a capacity for judicial review of this decision, I have no doubt a court would tear the report to shreds."
16.9.09
Brimbank Council Sacked
The individual Labor councillors who have been acting inappropriately deserve to be sacked, there is no doubt about that.
They have demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of their responsibilities and a disregard for acting in the community interest. Bill Scales highlights a few examples in his report, but there are many that he could have outlined that undoubtedly add up to a whole picture of improper conduct.
That said, I am very concerned that the whole thing is a diversion and not a solution.
I think it is suspicious that the administrator's term will extend beyond the November 2010 state election right through to 2012.
It allows the state government to sweep it all under the carpet and hope that the electorate will forget the corruption and neglect when it comes to the state election next year and the next local election.
Replacing elected representatives with unaccountable, unrepresentative, Labor appointed administrators will not help local democracy and I see a potential conflict of interest in a process where the person who recommends the dismissal of council gets the job of administrator in a process that has no public review.
Sunshine Council has been sacked twice already in recent history and it has done nothing to improve the outlook for our residents.
Sunshine still has the highest rate of unemployment, poor public transport, very high rates of diabetes, obesity and mental illness and our representatives are doing nothing to tackle these concerns.
It is very worrying that the community will now not have access to elected representation for the next 3 years. How is the community going to find out about how the council is spending its money, how are the decisions about a civic centre, Sunvale Primary School and major developments like Metro West going to go ahead without proper scrutiny and transparency? How will the community challenge decisions it disagrees with? How is it going to have a say? Administrators do not have to face election from the people if their decisions are not in their best interests.
Sacking Brimbank Council is more about drawing attention away from the fact that this Labor government has done nothing about dealing with corruption in its ranks, and nothing about the real source of inappropriate behaviour - senior labor figures. Where is the monitoring of their contact with councillors, where is the detailed review of MPs code of conduct? Where is the examination of undue influence of developers on MPs?
Residents are sick and tired of being neglected by their Labor representatives at all levels – not just on council.
Our community finally had someone who genuinely represented their interests (in Miles Dymott and now myself) and now that has been taken away.
In my first 9 months on Council I put forward motions on issues ranging from the budget, meeting transparency measures, abandoning the civic centre project in favour of parks, a commercial gaming venue rate increase, support for a container deposit scheme, condemnation of the urban growth boundary extension, opposed the development assessment committees, opposed the defunding of reconciliation Victoria, support for a net solar feed in tariff , and support for community consultation over a range of important local emerging issues. In most cases the vote in the chamber has been 10 against 1 - I'm the one!
This seems to demonstrate an unwillingness to support anything I put forward on its merits despite it being in the interests of our community. Yet the report utterly fails to report on this.
ALP rules indicate that even councillors who are not endorsed candidates but who are ALP members are required not to vote against ALP policy.
This appears to be in direct conflict with the oath sworn by councillors says they will act impartially and in the best interests of their community.
Greens councillors like me sign a greens councillors code of conduct that specifically directs us to act in the community interest even where it conflicts with greens policy.
I supported the Municipal Inspector and was really glad of the level of scrutiny his presence brought to Brimbank but it appears Labor doesn’t want to fix the problems they just want them to go away. I wish the report had named names and recommended suspending or sacking the named councillors - that would have been a more open process and would have been a sobering message to the remaining councillors. The Minister could have sacked those individual councillors found to have acted improperly.
Bill Scales promised to attend a community meeting in Sunshine on the 26th October that I organised to discuss what he has been doing to oversee the implementation of the Ombudsman's recommendations.
Now more than ever, he needs to honour that agreement and discuss the important concerns that our community has about the transparency and accountability of the new council administration.
The individual Labor councillors who have been acting inappropriately deserve to be sacked, there is no doubt about that.
They have demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of their responsibilities and a disregard for acting in the community interest. Bill Scales highlights a few examples in his report, but there are many that he could have outlined that undoubtedly add up to a whole picture of improper conduct.
That said, I am very concerned that the whole thing is a diversion and not a solution.
I think it is suspicious that the administrator's term will extend beyond the November 2010 state election right through to 2012.
It allows the state government to sweep it all under the carpet and hope that the electorate will forget the corruption and neglect when it comes to the state election next year and the next local election.
Replacing elected representatives with unaccountable, unrepresentative, Labor appointed administrators will not help local democracy and I see a potential conflict of interest in a process where the person who recommends the dismissal of council gets the job of administrator in a process that has no public review.
Sunshine Council has been sacked twice already in recent history and it has done nothing to improve the outlook for our residents.
Sunshine still has the highest rate of unemployment, poor public transport, very high rates of diabetes, obesity and mental illness and our representatives are doing nothing to tackle these concerns.
It is very worrying that the community will now not have access to elected representation for the next 3 years. How is the community going to find out about how the council is spending its money, how are the decisions about a civic centre, Sunvale Primary School and major developments like Metro West going to go ahead without proper scrutiny and transparency? How will the community challenge decisions it disagrees with? How is it going to have a say? Administrators do not have to face election from the people if their decisions are not in their best interests.
Sacking Brimbank Council is more about drawing attention away from the fact that this Labor government has done nothing about dealing with corruption in its ranks, and nothing about the real source of inappropriate behaviour - senior labor figures. Where is the monitoring of their contact with councillors, where is the detailed review of MPs code of conduct? Where is the examination of undue influence of developers on MPs?
Residents are sick and tired of being neglected by their Labor representatives at all levels – not just on council.
Our community finally had someone who genuinely represented their interests (in Miles Dymott and now myself) and now that has been taken away.
In my first 9 months on Council I put forward motions on issues ranging from the budget, meeting transparency measures, abandoning the civic centre project in favour of parks, a commercial gaming venue rate increase, support for a container deposit scheme, condemnation of the urban growth boundary extension, opposed the development assessment committees, opposed the defunding of reconciliation Victoria, support for a net solar feed in tariff , and support for community consultation over a range of important local emerging issues. In most cases the vote in the chamber has been 10 against 1 - I'm the one!
This seems to demonstrate an unwillingness to support anything I put forward on its merits despite it being in the interests of our community. Yet the report utterly fails to report on this.
ALP rules indicate that even councillors who are not endorsed candidates but who are ALP members are required not to vote against ALP policy.
This appears to be in direct conflict with the oath sworn by councillors says they will act impartially and in the best interests of their community.
Greens councillors like me sign a greens councillors code of conduct that specifically directs us to act in the community interest even where it conflicts with greens policy.
I supported the Municipal Inspector and was really glad of the level of scrutiny his presence brought to Brimbank but it appears Labor doesn’t want to fix the problems they just want them to go away. I wish the report had named names and recommended suspending or sacking the named councillors - that would have been a more open process and would have been a sobering message to the remaining councillors. The Minister could have sacked those individual councillors found to have acted improperly.
Bill Scales promised to attend a community meeting in Sunshine on the 26th October that I organised to discuss what he has been doing to oversee the implementation of the Ombudsman's recommendations.
Now more than ever, he needs to honour that agreement and discuss the important concerns that our community has about the transparency and accountability of the new council administration.
19.8.09
Community meeting at Sunshine Masonic Hall: well attended and children-friendly (above) Community Meeting
In recent months, Brimbank City Council has been rocked by allegations of misconduct. Following the release of the Ombudsman's Report into alleged misconduct, I put forward a motion that Council conduct a community meeting to allow the community to have full and proper discussion of the issues. Not one Councillor would support that motion. Because of this I went ahead with local Greens and organised a public meeting on Wednesday19th August in Sunshine.About 50 people turned out to a very successful community meeting. It was an opportunity for the community to discuss the key points of the report, and freely raise concerns over issues such as Sunvale PS, Parsons Reserve, the Civic Centre proposal, affordable housing, lack of public open space funding and inappropriate development.
The meeting resolved to pass a couple of motions. One was a request to Bill Scales to attend a community meeting in the next 6 weeks to update the community on his progress. Further the community requested Mr Scales to provide Council with a monthly update of his progress. We await his answer.
The meeting was well attended and there were so many valuable contributions. Hopefully this signals the start of our community becoming more organised and inspired to take up the struggle for a better Sunshine!
Former Greens Brimbank Councillor, Miles Dymott addressing the meeting (below)
22.6.09
Meeting Procedure Local Law
One of the suite of documents drafted to showcase how Council has changed includes a review of the Brimbank Local Meeting Law. As it turns out one of the key changes is grossly undemocratic.
In an obvious attempt to stifle independent opinions and debate, the 10 Labor councillors voted to require a second councillor's signature before any motion can be moved. Whilst the other ten councillors remain a bloc of sorts, this effectively means my motions remain unheard in the chamber unless I receive their consent.
As the only non-Labor councillor, it is clear that this is change to meeting procedure is aimed at preventing me from moving any motions and raising issues that I, as an elected representative, believe is in the community's interest.
With the whole of Victoria watching Brimbank and the conduct of Brimbank Councillors, we need to demonstrate that we are a democratic Council making transparent and accountable decisions.
I would be very interested to know Bill Scales' view on this.
http://brimbankgreensmedia.blogspot.com/2009/06/greens-councillor-condemns-brimbank.html
One of the suite of documents drafted to showcase how Council has changed includes a review of the Brimbank Local Meeting Law. As it turns out one of the key changes is grossly undemocratic.
In an obvious attempt to stifle independent opinions and debate, the 10 Labor councillors voted to require a second councillor's signature before any motion can be moved. Whilst the other ten councillors remain a bloc of sorts, this effectively means my motions remain unheard in the chamber unless I receive their consent.
As the only non-Labor councillor, it is clear that this is change to meeting procedure is aimed at preventing me from moving any motions and raising issues that I, as an elected representative, believe is in the community's interest.
With the whole of Victoria watching Brimbank and the conduct of Brimbank Councillors, we need to demonstrate that we are a democratic Council making transparent and accountable decisions.
I would be very interested to know Bill Scales' view on this.
http://brimbankgreensmedia.blogspot.com/2009/06/greens-councillor-condemns-brimbank.html
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