Posts related to 'community consultation'

Delegates’ Report: opportunities for people with disabilities, the upcoming writers festival and the strength of community spirit

Published by Alex Makin on Monday 18th of August, 2008

On the 23rd of July I had the pleasure of attending Titanic - the Untold Story: Resunk by the Monkami Drama Group hosted at the Karralyka Centre. The performance revisited the drama group’s 2007 production through the introduction of new characters and a revised script.

Monkami is a service provider for adults with an intellectual disability and aims to develop skills that will enable them to live with the greatest degree of independence within their own community.

Each performer was given the opportunity to develop their own character drawing upon many popular names such as James Bond, Captain Jack Sparrow, Wolverine and Judge Judy and of course Napoleon who was the villain of the show.

The level of detail in the performance was incredible, not only was the stage decked out as the Titanic, and the costumes extremely thorough, but they even gave Titanic hats to the audience to ensure that they were part of the show. It was all hands on deck, when everyone tried to escape the sinking Titanic, fortunately with the audience joining in on the hokey pokey we were all able to escape to dry land!

After two successful seasons the production is now considering further opportunities to continue the performance, including the potential of a touring show.

The Ringwood Spiders, based in Jubilee Park in Ringwood, is a football team for people with disabilities and on the 27th of July I attended their last home game for the season against the Maribyrnong Bulldogs. Like Monkami, the Ringwood Spiders is another example of how people with disabilities can participate within our community. It was great to see the Spiders playing one of their best games for the season, with the players coming together as one team and playing some extraordinary football.

With such on-field skills the Spiders defeated their opposition, which was a fitting way to end their last home game for the season at Jubilee Park.

Groups like Monkami and the Ringwood Spiders demonstrate that when given the opportunity people with disabilities can participate within our wider community. Perhaps the most wonderful aspect of these two events, was the breadth of the wider community support. Community groups such as the Ringwood Ballet Group and the Ringwood Movie Makers provided immense support to Monkami and the Ringwood Football Club is one of the Spiders biggest supporters, providing the use of training facilities and clubrooms.

On the 5th of August I attended Maroondah’s Forum for People with Disabilities and Carers, which provides an opportunity to raise issues in regard to accessibility so that we can strive for an inclusive community.

The forum provided an opportunity to discuss the feedback from the workshop held earlier this year and it was encouraging to see most of the input being incorporated into the forum. I would like to thank the many departments that are responsible for the forum, including Metro Access, aged and disability services, community planning and development and council’s engineers.

The forum continues to demonstrate the importance of providing dialogue and hearing first-hand the accessibility issues that exist within Maroondah so that as a council we can work towards making a difference through creating an inclusive municipality.

Lastly, this morning I attended a steering group meeting of the Maroondah 2008 Writers and Readers Festival.

The Festival which will be held between the 3rd and 5th of October include writer’s workshops, discussion groups and keynote speakers around the key theme of crime. The event which is funded through a Maroondah City Council grant in partnership with Eastern Regional Libraries will feature a number of prominent writers including John Silvester, the author of the Underbelly.

Once again the community spirit shines through in the preparation for the festival, with North Ringwood Community House offering to manage ticket sales and businesses such as Lakeside Cafe being available as a venue.

For details please visit the Eastern Regional Library website at www.erl.vic.gov.au, otherwise details are also available on my own web site at www.alexmakin.com.au.

Media Release: Creating better connections

Published by Alex Makin on Wednesday 23rd of July, 2008

Maroondah City Council has developed the draft Principal Pedestrian Network to give priority and consideration to the improvement and provision of quality footpaths throughout the municipality.

Councillor Alex Makin says the draft Principal Pedestrian Network is a key recommendation from Council’s Maroondah Pedestrian Strategy adopted in June 2007.

“Council recognises that walking plays an important role in encouraging people’s participation in their community, and the development of the Principal Pedestrian Network will go a long way to improving walking options through local neighbourhoods,” said Cr Makin.

“The aim of the Principal Pedestrian Network is to establish the principal pathway networks throughout Maroondah with a view to identifying the missing links. This will enable council to improve accessibility through providing at least one footpath along all roads that are considered part of the network,” said Cr Makin.

“The completion of the Principal Pedestrian Network will enhance access to public transport, community services, shopping precincts, and sport and recreational facilities by providing better connecting footpaths. This will assist in creating an accessible municipality and make walking a convenient and appealing transport choice,” said Cr Makin.

“Council is now seeking feedback on the draft Principal Pedestrian Network to ensure that it is meeting community needs. I would encourage interested members of the community to take the time to view the plans and provide comment,” said Cr Makin.

A copy of the draft Principal Pedestrian Network is available from www.maroondah.vic.gov.au.

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Maroondah Journal: More councillors, less wards under electoral boundary changes

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 27th of May, 2008

The Maroondah Journal has reported on the new ward structure that will apply to Maroondah City Council from the November elections. The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) has found that three wards, electing three councillors each would provide a greater level of representation for the City of Maroondah.

The official council submission made a futile attempt to try and retain the status quo.

“Cr Alex Makin disagreed [with the council stance], saying the new structure would provide greater diversity of people standing for election.”

Myself and Councillors Jo-anne Taylor and Maureen Naylor suggested that a new ward structure was required to provide a higher standard of local democracy. In my submission to the VEC I stated that multi-member wards would ensure a more holistic approach to council and encourage cooperation.

“Residents are confused about who represents them because of the way Maroondah is divided. This simple structure should change that.”

Maroondah’s existing ward structure wards arbitrary boundaries that make it confusing for people to identify their ward councillor. The new structure with larger wards means that residents will be able to clearly identify the ward they are within, thus making it easier to raise concerns with council.

The VEC should be congratulated for maintaining its independence and for not being swayed by council’s attempt to maintain the current inequitable and confusing ward structure.

VEC Panel Hearing for the Maroondah Representation Review

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 29th of April, 2008

Tonight, the VEC held a public panel hearing as part of the process into Maroondah’s representation review, providing submitters with the opportunity to speak in support of their written submissions.

As part of the ten minute allocation for submitters, I elaborated on the issues raised within my written submission, including the fact that Maroondah’s current single member ward structure and any proposed alternatives unnecessarily divide our community. The fact that there are significant discrepancies between the number of candidates within each ward, such as eight in Eastfield compared to uncontested elections in Wyreena, demonstrates in part a diminishing interest in the current ward structure and a failure of these wards to adequately connect with the community.

Larger wards encompassing broader communities of interest, along socio-demographic, as well as geographic similarities, will also help ensure a whole of municipality approach towards issues. This will be of increasing importance as councils tackle significant issues such as climate change, accessibility and transport, which affect the entire municipality and not just a specific ward.

A new ward structure, that unites rather than divides our community and provides residents and ratepayers with clearly defined ward boundaries will provide a higher level of governance and democracy for the City of Maroondah.

The VEC is due to present its final recommendation on Monday the 19th of May.

Consultative Workshop for the Maroondah Forum for People with Disabilities and Carers

Published by Alex Makin on Monday 28th of April, 2008

The Maroondah Forum for People with Disabilities and Carers, which currently meets on a quarterly basis, provides an opportunity for council and the community to discuss issues relating to accessibility. While the forum has been successful in creating dialogue and improving accessibility within Maroondah, it is timely to undertake a review to strengthen this forum and the level of community dialogue.

Today’s workshop included approximately 40 community members, with a mixture of occasional and regular participants at the forum, as well as new attendees. This strong attendance provided a range of different experiences with accessibility issues within Maroondah.

The ability for networking between individuals and groups, the information that is shared and the ability to provide faces and a contact point for organisations, were identified as positive aspects of the forum. As an example, the ongoing attendance by companies such as Invicta and Connex has enabled direct communication in regard to transport and this has delivered improvements for our community.

The two-way dialogue between council and the community and the opportunity to provide either verbal or written comments were also seen as strengths. This dialogue has been critical in providing council with first-hand experience of the accessibility within the municipality and a number of infrastructure related projects, such as realigning pedestrian crossings, accessible parking improvements and the regrading of footpaths have been actioned as a direct result of this feedback.

Unfortunately the quarterly frequency of the forums has meant that some of this momentum is lost due to the delays between each meeting and also makes it difficult for people to remember issues that they wanted to discuss. As a result there was strong interest in the idea to increase the frequency of these meetings so that they are held every two months. This would also provide the added advantage of providing some flexibility for alternating meeting times, such as providing an evening forum for people that are unable to make day-time events. The forum is currently held between 10 am and 12 pm on a Monday and this makes it difficult for people who work during the day or for students to attend. While not everyone is comfortable with evening meetings, a more frequent schedule would allow for alternating times to give more people the opportunity to attend.

The need for ongoing promotion of the forum was also discussed and there is a clear need to increase community awareness. Details of the forum should be prominently featured on the Maroondah City Council website and it should also be included within council’s publications as well as the local newspapers.

There was much discussion in regard to the role of the forum in regard to whether it should include a strategic focus, such as exploring policy and advocacy, as well as providing a greater degree of structure through a terms of reference. The current informal and open nature of the forum provides an opportunity for people to attend as many or as few of the forums as they wish. Likewise the inclusion of engineering and operational issues provides mechanisms to raise issues directly with council.

It is certainly important to discuss strategic issues, particularly around the area of advocacy, such as ensuring affordable housing for people with disabilities, where local government can fulfil a critical role in lobbying other levels of government. It is important that Maroondah provides the right balance to ensure that strategic, as well as operational issues are discussed.

In this regard there may be merit in the formation of an accessibility committee, with a more formalised structure that would involve Council and the community within these broader issues. This would also provide the opportunity for peak accessibility groups to be involved in the decision making process. In addition it would mean that the forum would remain available to discuss more localised and specific concerns so that informal interaction with the community would continue.

I certainly see merit with increasing the frequency of the forum meetings with alternating times to allow for a greater level of input and to ensure more frequent dialogue with the community. Likewise I also believe there is a need for a more formalised committee that operates alongside the forum so that we can cover a wider range of accessibility issues.

Maroondah’s forum for people with disabilities and carers is generally well regarded by the community, although there is obvious scope for improvement. The discussion generated from this workshop will assist council in planning the future of this forum to ensure that we improve the level of accessibility within Maroondah.