Archive for June 16th, 2008

Ringwood After Dark

Published by Alex Makin on Monday 16th of June, 2008

This evening I walked home from the Council meeting. While this month’s meeting was largely harmonious the walk home demonstrated how much needs to be done.

As I was walking along Maroondah Highway I passed the bus stop near the Mount Dandenong Road and Maroondah Highway intersections. A lady was waiting at the bus stop who asked me if there were any more buses to get her to the station so she could go to Mitcham. I mentioned that bus route 670, which travels along Maroondah Highway, finished service at 9pm and that walking to the station was the only option available to her.

As we were walking towards Ringwood Station, we passed Ringwood Lake and about half a dozen youths involved in a fight along the median strip of Maroondah Highway. While I contacted the Police, it is saddening that despite so many cars driving past only two drivers stopped to contact the authorities. It is a terrible reflection upon our society when so many people will simply choose to ignore a situation than try and assist.

I find it ironic that as a council we talk about the vibrant future of Ringwood, while we have a situation where people are unable to get to their destinations and we have violent fighting occurring in our streets. While Ringwood certainly needs a vision, it is important we do not lose sight of the fact that there is much that needs to be done to immediately improve our amenity.

It’s easy to get caught up in a vision for the future, but a vision begins with practical steps to achieve that outcome. There is much more that needs to be done to improve the amenity of Maroondah and while some of it may be outside the domain of local government we should not be skirting our responsibilities.

Meanwhile, council is preoccupied with trying to overturn the VEC’s decision into changes proposed for Maroondah’s ward structure. Perhaps some of my colleagues would benefit from walking around Ringwood after dark.

Delegates’ Report: Reconciliation Week, engaging our youth, supporting people with disabilities and calling for an investment in public transport

Published by Alex Makin on Monday 16th of June, 2008

While held slightly before Reconciliation Week I attended the screening of a film Liyarn Ngarn by Eastern Access Community Health on the 23rd of May. The screening was held as part of EACH’s Stage Club program at Lifeworks in Ringwood. Stage Club hosts film or life performances every third Friday and provides an opportunity for people with mental illnesses to learn skills relevant to the hospitality industry.

Liyarn Ngarn means ‘Coming Together of the Spirit’ in the Yawuru language of the West Kimberley region. The film is a documentary which explores the treatment of Indigenous Australians from the perspective of English actor Peter Postlethwaite. The film focuses on the journey undertaken by Peter, singer/songwriter Archie Roach and Patrick Dodson as they travel from Perth through to Archie Roach’s home country in south west Victoria. Throughout the journey they hear from personal accounts and discuss major turning points in the relationship with Indigenous Australians such as the Bringing them Home Report and the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Inquiry.

The film, which features a soundtrack by Archie Roach is a very moving and thought provoking documentary. The theme for this year’s Reconciliation Week was it’s all our story, representing that to progress reconciliation it will involve all of Australia coming together and I certainly encourage people to view the film and consider how reconciliation can become part of our story.

On the 30th of May I had the pleasure of officiating the Young Leaders Presentation Evening held at EV’s Youth Centre. The presentation provided an opportunity to acknowledge the twenty Year 10 students who participated in council’s young leaders program.

Young Leaders is a week long program that helps develop a wide variety of leadership skills, such as public speaking, communication and conflict resolution. The program is held during the school week and while some students may look forward a week off school, in reality it means that they will need to catch up on the work they have missed. Participating in the program is a huge responsibility and one which each student passed with superb results.

The presentation evening provides an opportunity to see firsthand the skills these students have learnt and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Youth Services Team for facilitating the program and also to the schools and parents for their cooperation. I hope that these students will remember the skills they have learnt and use them not only in school and employment but also within the community. Many community groups would welcome the involvement of younger people and I hope they will use these skills to assist in strengthening our community.

On the 10th of June I attended the launch of Youth Voices at Ringwood Secondary College. Youth Voices will develop a magazine to provide a voice for our youth and to demonstrate the positive contribution that young people make within society. The launch began with an online interactive forum which covered a range of topics, including the future of Ringwood. Council’s Youth Services Team and Economic Development Team, as well as Eastland, need to be congratulated for using this opportunity to consult our youth to understand their vision for Ringwood. This an exciting project and it was great to see the embracing of technology through interactive online forums to encourage people to offer their thoughts. I hope that as a council we will continue to explore innovative methods of community engagement.

On the 15th of June I attended a game of the Ringwood Spiders and their Sponsors Gala function. The Ringwood Spiders is part of the 14 team league organised through the Football Integration Development Association (FIDA). The Ringwood Spiders have a strong focus on the community and they encourage community engagement through their sponsorship program where businesses and community members can sponsor a player for $150 to provide funds for uniforms and other expenses. While the Spiders narrowly lost to Parkside they played some great football and it was great to see the player I sponsored, half back Tom Raisebeck, out on the field. The Spiders have just two remaining home games on the 29th of June and 27th of July and I wish them all the best for the remaining rounds in the season.

On the 15th of June I attended the EastLink open day like many other people and while it certainly is true that Eastlink is an engineering feat we need to remind ourselves that it is not the end of our transport needs in the eastern region. In fact with evidence suggesting $2 per litre petrol prices being common in the not too distant future we need the public transport equivalent of Eastlink.

For those among us that are sceptical about petrol ever reaching $2 a litre we only need to look back a few years and remember how many people claimed that a $1 litre was unforeseeable.

Fortunately Maroondah and the eastern region is focused on the needs of public transport and I am pleased to announce that the Eastern Transport Coalition, the consortium of the seven eastern councils, will be hosting a public transport summit aptly titled ‘It’s Time to Move On’. This summit will explore the public transport needs for eastern Melbourne including a session on Ringwood and its importance as a regional centre.

The summit will be held on Friday the 4th of July from 8.30 am through to 11 am at the Manningham Function Centre in Doncaster. To RSVP please visit www.etc.org.au or let me know as Maroondah’s delegated representative to the ETC.

We have had the investment in our road network - it now is time to move on to ensure that we also receive the necessary investment in our public transport network.

Public Transport Summit - It’s Time to Move On

Published by Alex Makin on Monday 16th of June, 2008

Friday, 4 July 2008
8:30 am	to	12:00 pm

You are invited to attend a Public Transport Summit on Friday 4 July at Manningham City Council Offices, Doncaster.

Hosted by the Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC), the Summit will draw together local residents, leaders and transport advocates to discuss improving public transport in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Keynote speaker will be Professor Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University. Professor Newman is a renowned West Australian academic and planner who is credited with coining the term ‘automobile dependence’ — an expression describing the creation of cities reliant on cars.

The Summit will also hear from Professor Graham Currie, Monash University Chair of Public Transport and Peter Daly, Chief Engineer from the RACV.

In addition I will be speaking about the role of Ringwood and its importance as an accessible regional centre which requires a comprehensive public transport system complete with the redevelopment of Ringwood Station and duplications along the Belgrave and Lilydale rail lines.

For further details and to RSVP please visit the ETC public transport summit web site.

Norwood Park Hall Users meeting

Published by Alex Makin on Friday 18th of January, 2008

Monday, 11 February 2008
1:30 pm	to	3:30 pm
Monday, 14 April 2008
1:30 pm	to	3:30 pm
Monday, 16 June 2008
1:30 pm	to	3:30 pm
Monday, 11 August 2008
1:30 pm	to	3:30 pm
Monday, 13 October 2008
1:30 pm	to	3:30 pm

The Hall Users Meeting for the Senior Citizens Centre at Norwood Park, situated on Warrandyte Road Ringwood North, provides an opportunity for the three groups that use the hall to discuss issues related to the facility.

There are three groups based in the hall, the North Ringwood Senior Citizens, Ringwood U3A and Enjoying Planned Retirement. The bi-monthly meeting provides a forum for the three groups to discuss their activities and the needs of their groups.

As the ward councillor for Loughnan’s Hill, I have been invited to attend the meetings to ensure that communication exists between the three groups and Maroondah City Council.

Maroondah City Council Meeting

Published by Alex Makin on Wednesday 5th of December, 2007

Monday, 10 December 2007
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Monday, 18 February 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Monday, 17 March 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Monday, 21 April 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Monday, 19 May 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Monday, 16 June 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Monday, 21 July 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Monday, 18 August 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Monday, 15 September 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Monday, 20 October 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Monday, 17 November 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
7:30 pm	to	9:30 pm

Council meetings commence at 7.30 pm and are held in the Council Chambers, Braeside Avenue, Ringwood.

The public is welcome to attend and there is an opportunity to submit a question to be answered at council meetings or to speak directly to councillors and council staff after the meeting.

If you wish to submit a formal question at a council meeting, please download the form for Public Question Time from the Maroondah City Council Website.