By PETER DOUGLAS
IN RELATION to the Mail’s inquiries to Yarra Ranges councillors in last week’s edition (2 February, 2016), which canvassed their opinions over the proposed multi-councillor wards, Franc Smith from the Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association has prepared the following letter. It’s the Mail’s opinion the questions raised in the letter need clarification. Through this article, the Mail has endeavoured to provide further clarification around issues related to the Victorian Electoral Commission’s review. The Mail hopes this will foster informed debate within the community over this important issue. Mr Smith’s letter reads as follows.
EIGHT of the nine councillors ‘never’ agreed with the Victoria Electoral Commission report, expressing grave doubts over representation.
*Editor’s note: Only seven of the nine councillors responded to the Mail’s enquiries on this issue. Councillors Terry Avery and Andrew Witlox did not respond.
Cr Child states, “I think it’s an open and fair democracy and that’s the great thing for us to have”.
The VEC ‘omitted’ over 7300 Mount Evelyn voters.
Does he really believe ‘omitting’ the third largest township is acceptable as ‘open and fair democracy’?
More questions:
1. Mayor (Jason) Callanan proclaimed ‘Council will fight’ (Mail, 1 December, 2015). Why didn’t it?
2. Will council immediately appeal now, since the report has no support among its councillors?
3. Was council so divided that council officers presented the disastrous ‘Option D’ as a way of promoting a united front when many councillors requested there be no change?
4. How will voters be taught the new method of Proportional Representation Voting – similar to those long Senate ballot at federal elections – all through the post?
5. Council’s statutory responsibility under the Local Government Act to ‘exhibit’ this report at their offices was never complied with. Why?
If the community gets the government they deserve, did Mount Evelyn ‘deserve’ this?
Yarra Ranges Shire prepared the following details, which the Mail believes will help to clarify some, but not all, of the concerns raised:
* The Representation Review was conducted by the VEC, who placed public notices in a number of newspapers, including the Mount Evelyn Mail, to notify residents that the review was being undertaken and also to advise that their preliminary report had been released, with these being published in the Mount Evelyn Mail on 4 August and 6 October respectively.
* Any queries regarding the adequacy or otherwise of publicity of the review in the Mount Evelyn area should be directed to the VEC.
* The assertion that the council could appeal the recommendations made by the VEC is not correct. The Local Government Act does not make provision for appeals to be lodged in respect of the recommendations made by the VEC to the Minister, but instead places requirements on councils to provide any information or assistance to the Minister that the Minister may request for the purposes of section 219G of the Act.
* The council, with the input of all councillors, actively participated in the review and put forward submissions at each stage of the process, as well as appearing in person at a public hearing on 5 November, 2015. In addition, individual councillors also put forward submissions and appeared in person at the public hearing.
* Details of the process followed by the VEC and those who participated in this, including copies of their individual written submissions, are available in the final report and on the VEC website at: www.vec.vic.gov.au/reviews/Yarrarangesrr.html
* The requirements placed on the council by section 219F of the Local Government Act relate to ensuring that the final report is available for inspection for the period of at least three months after the report is received, not that it be exhibited or displayed.
* A limited number of copies of the final report have been available for inspection since its release and this is also available online via the VEC website. The copies of the final report provided to the council are held in the governance office.
