Life and death

WESTFIELD Fountain Gate shopping centre is to be congratulated for its brilliant planning to serve the public in the event of a catastrophic event, of fire or flood etc.
It has even rehearsed, with staff, for a crisis.
Westfield management, under CEO Tim Broxham, has advised security staff to be alert to being “called in” on short notice to work in an emergency overnight.
Westfield is on the Go-Early – Go-List on its website – part of the emergency go early policy.
Westfield’s planning is so impressive it deserves to be awarded a Premier’s type excellent award.
One of the recommendations of the Bushfires Royal Commission was that municipal councils should publish a range of alternate locations for ratepayers to go to and take their pets, dogs and even horses.
Narre Warren North Shopping Centre provided a refuge for horses, in floats on Black Saturday. Is this on the 2011/2012 plan?
Seriously, where is Casey’s plan published for this life and death matter? For 2011? 2012?
Many ratepayers will flock to Fountain Gate’s shopping centre.
But there in there is a (known to Casey) problem.
Because Westfield Fountain Gate, big rebuilding will continue until May 2012, there is a big car parking problem (only 100 spaces were restored recently) and the problem will exist until after the summer fire season.
Despite the MAV telling council not to act and not accept insurance liability for its dollar paying ratepayers and simply take out public liability insurance for fire events, surely in this life and death matter it is time for Casey Council to face its responsibility and insure or publish its plan for alternate places to go when “going early” in the fire season?
Syd Pargeter,
Harkaway.