Archive for April 22nd, 2008

Maroondah Journal: New ward plan attacked

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 22nd of April, 2008

With submissions closing shortly for the Maroondah representation review, the Maroondah Journal has reported on council attempts to disregard community feedback on the review process.

Cr Alex Makin said not everyone agreed with the council’s view.

“Community consultation held in November last year made it clear that the community supported a new ward structure including multi-member wards.

These workshops were conducted by an independent facilitator who stated the following findings based on the feedback received:

• Proportional representation was viewed as a far fairer system,
• Single member wards drew little support,
• No views were expressed that under single member wards Councillors would be more accessible or be closer to the community,
• Multi-member wards – this structure was favoured by residents,

While it can be argued that the sample size of these workshops was low, the onus was on council to verify these findings and not simply to disregard them.

“It’s simply another tactic of the closed-door mentality that operates in Maroondah.”

It is unfortunate that far too many decisions within Maroondah are being made behind closed doors rather than being debated in open council.

Response Submission to the VEC’s representation review for Maroondah City Council

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 22nd of April, 2008

I have submitted my response submission to the Victorian Electoral Commission’s (VEC) representation review into Maroondah City Council.

It is encouraging that the Victorian Electoral Commission has found that substantial changes are required to Maroondah’s ward structure as demonstrated through the three options brought forward in the preliminary submission.

In providing a response to the three options proposed by the VEC I assessed the models against the issues listed within my preliminary submission to ensure a consistent and systematic approach.

Ultimately it is imperative that Maroondah’s ward boundaries are restructured to combine communities of interest, rather than the current case where communities are clearly being divided.

• View response submission to the Victorian Electoral Commission’s representation review for the City of Maroondah

Ringwood Historical Society meeting

Published by Alex Makin on Friday 25th of January, 2008

Tuesday, 26 February 2008
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
8:00 pm	to	10:00 pm

The Ringwood Historical Society aims to collect, promote, preserve and document the history of Ringwood, from its early origins in antimony mining and orchards through to its suburban expansion and beyond. As Ringwood undergoes another transformation the importance in documenting its history cannot be underestimated.

The Ringwood Historical Society meets ten times a year at Maroondah Federation Estate on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Meetings often include guest speakers who are available to discuss prominent people, families or events that helped shape the history of Ringwood. Members of the community are encouraged to attend and share any knowledge they have on Ringwood’s history.

For more information on the Ringwood Historical Society please visit www.rhs.org.au.