Tag: council meetings

Maroondah Partners in Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committe – Discussing the Community Wellbeing Plan

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The development of Council’s Community Wellbeing Plan has been priority of the Maroondah Partners in Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee. The plan, has been formulated through input from the members that are part of the committee, including the Primary Care Partnerships, Eastern Access Community Health, the Department of Health, the Department of Education and Victoria Police.

Maroondah’s Community Wellbeing Plan is a high level strategic documentation that aims to improve health, safety and wellbeing within our municipality. The document will be accompanied by an implementation plan, which includes a whole of council approach to ensure consistency across policy and departmental areas.

The plan is nearing draft status and will be shortly be considered for public exhibition, where the community will have a fruther opportunity to comment on the content of the Community Wellbeing Plan.

2009 Maroondah City Council meeting schedule

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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.

Doing it tough for the community

Posted on by alex

The following article was written by a journalism student who asked Cr. Jo-anne Taylor and myself about the challenges experienced within local government:

Alex Makin Jo-anne Taylor

While some Maroondah citizens would not know who these individuals are, it’s highly likely that the residents, ratepayers, business owners and community groups of Maroondah have witnessed the outcome of their hard work on a daily basis.

These photos are of Alex Makin and Joanne Taylor, two local councillors who are dong it tough for Maroondah. They spend up to 30 hours a week on council duties yet face daily obstacles from their colleagues and receive little recognition from the community.

Representing residents and ratepayers is an overwhelming commitment which requires intense passion and impacts on the lives of councillors, including their family and friends. As Cr Alex Makin stated, “council, has made it difficult to balance a career outside of council, as well as other commitments.”

Privacy or the lack of it, is another issue faced by councillors “apparently I don’t have a private life anymore. My family, including my children know what has been put in the paper about me,” Cr Joanne Taylor added.

With council elections looming over Maroondah, it appears that political rivalry is rife. “The gang of four have made it difficult to encourage public discussion and debate, but it has been possible to work around such difficulties, through local community groups and supportive council officers,” Cr Alex Makin stated.

Despite these obstacles Cr Alex Makin and Cr Joanne Taylor are running for the upcoming council election because both believe there is still work to be done. “I am standing so I can continue to make a difference to Maroondah, particularly in regards to improved accessibility, sustainability and the accountability of council,” Cr Alex Makin commented.

“I particularly want to see council meetings conducted in the view of the public, so that debates occur in the open. This would prevent the current political divisions since the public can see the discussion,” Cr Alex Makin added.

“I have survived two terms – despite some councillor’s best effort to have me removed, this has only made me more determined, and I now know enough to make change happen,” Cr Joanne Taylor said.

Both councillors are excited with the prospect of the new council structure which will introduce a new generation of local councillors to Maroondah. “Prior to this structure being in place Maroondah councillors were being elected unopposed, which weakened local democracy,” Cr Alex Makin stated.

The last three years have laid numerous foundations for Cr Alex Makin and Cr Joanne Taylor. Both are thrilled with their achievements to date, which have included the prevention of the sale of parkland and the removal of zone three, through advocacy that involved local council.

With it being compulsory for residents and ratepayers over the age of 18 to vote from Wednesday 12 November to Sunday 29 November, it is important that Maroondah is represented by councillors that are committed to making a difference.

For further information on Cr Alex Makin and Cr Joanne Taylor please visit their websites at www.alexmakin.com.au and www.jo-annetaylor.com.au.

Maroondah Journal: Council Fear

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The three wards in Maroondah are being hotly contested with eleven candidates each in Arrabri and Mullum and fourteen in Wyreena. While a large number of candidates should be a celebration of local democracy, it is unfortunate that a large number of these candidates appear to be merely running mates for candidates linked with developers.

Fortunately the Maroondah Journal has reported on the growing concern of these candidates as they appear to be crowding out the genuine contenders in the upcoming council elections.

Cr Makin says he is concerned with an influx of candidates aligned with “over-zealous developers who do not hold the community at heart.”

A number of the candidates that are standing have not even regularly attended council meetings let alone have any lasting involvement with community groups. In addition the flow of preferences by some candidates, particularly in Mullum and Wyreena Ward, clearly demonstrates the use of dummy candidates and a reliance on preferences rather than securing public support.

“While one would expect that they should declare an interest, given that Maroondah’s planning decisions are often made outside a public council meeting, none of this would actually be on the public record,” Cr Makin said. “It means each of these candidates would be able to influence the decision despite the interest that they hold.”

I urge the residents and ratepayers of Maroondah to clearly examine the preferences of the candidates standing for election. Make sure that you check whether the candidate has a website, lives in the ward they are seeking to represent and whether they are blatantly relying on the preferences of others.

Maroondah needs candidates and councillors that are committed to making a difference and not people that are pursuing their own hidden agendas.

Council backflips – Response submission to be listed for Monday's council meeting

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This afternoon I received a telephone call advising that Maroondah’s response submission to the Victorian Electoral Commission’s representation review will now be listed on the agenda for Monday night’s council meeting.

It is encouraging that Maroondah has seen the need for this item to be listed in the open council chamber. This will ensure that the item will be debated and while I doubt that it will change the outcome, it will provide an opportunity to reinforce the fact that the community has requested substantial changes in the structure of wards and representation within Maroondah.

Response submission to the Victorian Electoral Commission close on the 22nd of April.

Maroondah's reponse to the VEC must not be made behind closed doors

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Maroondah Council is currently proposing not to formally endorse its response submission to the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) at Monday night’s council meeting.

The decision not to formally adopt council’s position is at odds with other municipalities which required both the preliminary submission and final response to be adopted by resolution at a formal council meeting.

The motion that was adopted in February 2008 (in a five versus two decision) reads as follows:

That Council adopts an electoral structure of seven councillors and single member wards reflecting Maroondah’s current communities of interest as the basis of its preliminary submission to be made to the VEC review panel by 4 March 2008.

It has been claimed that the wording of this resolution applies to the response submission due on the 22nd of April, as well as an advocacy campaign currently being undertaken by Council. It is clear that this is incorrect – the wording of the resolution refers exclusively to the preliminary submission.

This is yet another example of decisions that are being made behind closed doors at Maroondah City Council. It would appear that this is an attempt to stymie debate on the response submission, where the council is attempting to clutch to a modified version of the existing ward boundaries – despite the fact that they divide communities within Maroondah.

While it is necessary at times to tolerate the churlish behaviour of some of my colleagues I will not accept a denial of transparency and accountability. I am seeking independent advice as to whether Maroondah can prevent the response submission being listed on Monday night’s council agenda.

Maroondah Journal: Cr stripped of committee roles 'won't apologise'

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The Maroondah Journal has reported on the events that transpired at the council meeting held on the 10th of December.

Councillors are appointed as delegates to council committees and these positions were decided at this council meeting. Unfortunately the committee positions, which were moved by Cr. Peter Gurr, completely excluded Cr. Jo-anne Taylor.

It is disappointing that Cr. Peter Gurr, has chosen to end the year with a personal attack on Cr. Jo-anne Taylor, despite the fact that she is an incredibly dedicated and community minded representative.

Cr. Alex Makin said it had been “nothing but a blatant personal attack on one councillor”. He said he wanted the committee list reviewed for the council’s first meeting next year.

While Cr. Taylor and Cr. Maureen Naylor and myself spoke against the motion proposed by Cr. Gurr, the exclusion of Cr. Taylor was unfortunately adopted with the support of Cr. Les Willmott (who also spoke in support Cr. Gurr’s motion), Cr. Natalie Thomas and the current mayor Cr. Tony Dib.

Given this blatant attack on Cr. Taylor, I have submitted Maroondah’s first ever notice to review to seek amendments to the following committee delegations:

  • Maroondah Partners in Health, Safety and Well-being Committee
  • Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV)
  • Roadsafe – Melbourne Eastern Ranges Inc.
  • Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee
  • Eastern Regional Housing Group

A notice to review has the potential to rescind a part of a council decision through having the matter re-heard at the next council meeting. This means that the positions on the aforementioned committees will be re-considered at the next council meeting which is to be held on the 18th of February.

“This hopefully gives an opportunity for some of the councillors to re-evaluate their behaviour and come in with a positive outlook”.

I trust that my council colleagues will choose to begin the new year with a positive approach and a desire to work with all of their colleagues. It is a shame that Cr. Gurr, a person that I have normally respected, has chosen to personally attack his colleagues rather than work constructively for the betterment of the Maroondah community. It is also surprising that Cr. Natalie Thomas has blindly decided to support the exclusion of Cr. Taylor, despite never actually speaking in favour of any motion in the open chamber.

Cr. Taylor regularly attended her delegated appointments and her specialised knowledge in areas such as emergency management means that she has a significant contribution to make within these committees and the wider community.

The community suffers while there is continued infighting in council. The notice to review to be held in February will determine whether some of my colleagues are on council for the right reasons.

Maroondah City Council Meeting 2008

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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.

Maroondah Journal: Ill-informed remarks

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The Maroondah Journal has published my letter in response to the comments written by Carol Hunter from the Maroondah Residents and Ratepayers Association.

My response, which was published in this week’s paper, is as follows:

While the Maroondah Residents and Ratepayers Association refuses to refer to me by name, it is clear that I was the target of their ill informed and offensive comments (November 27).

I find it surprising that Carol Hunter asserts that my only interest is public transport.

If she paid attention to council meetings then she would have heard me discuss a range of topics including accessibility, sustainability, planning, environmental and youth issues. I have also spoken about some of the wonderful community groups that exist for senior residents. These include Enjoying Planned Retirement, where I am a regular guest at its functions.

Transcripts of the speeches I deliver in council, as well as details about my council activities are readily available from my website www.alexmakin.com.au. I will let the community, rather than an ill-informed association, be the judge as to whether I have the ‘life experience’ necessary to represent the Maroondah community.

It is a shame that the Maroondah Residents and Ratepayers Association, a once proud and strong organisation, is stating that younger people should neither be seen or heard. Everyone in our community, regardless of age, should be treated with the utmost respect.

Alex Makin
Maroondah Councillor

A strong and independent Ratepayers Association would be beneficial to local democracy and good governance. It is unfortunate however that the Maroondah Residents and Ratepayers Association prefer instead to issue factually incorrect comments and denigrate the community.

Maroondah Journal: Experience needed

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The Maroondah Journal this week included a letter from Carol Hunter on behalf of the Maroondah Residents and Ratepayers Association in regard to my decision to nominate for the position of Mayor.

The letter is included below:

IT has been suggested in the Journal (November 13) that a younger person should be mayor.
While the opinions of young people should be heard and considered, they lack the life skills and experience to properly appreciate and understand the needs of a community whose ages range up to more than 100.
Also, it requires someone whose interest and comments are not apparently limited to the issue of public transport, which is a state government, not a council responsibility.
While councils can and should present the community’s concerns to all levels of government it is more effective for the council as a whole to do so, not individual councillors.

Carol Hunter
Maroondah Residents and Ratepayers Association

While the Maroondah Residents and Ratepayers Association refused to specifically name me within the letter, it is clear that as Maroondah’s youngest councillor and someone who is passionate about sustainability, that I am the target of these ill informed comments.

While public transport advocacy is an issue that I have and will continue to be involved in, it is incorrect to assert that this is my only interest. Representatives of the Maroondah Residents and Ratepayers Association, including Carol Hunter, attend council meetings and would have heard me speak about a diverse range of topics through my delegates’ reports and in regard to council motions.

As an example, I spoke about the following as part of my delegates’ report tabled at the council meeting held on the 19th of November:

  • Enjoying Planned Retirement’s Art and Craft Exhibition
  • October’s Eastern Transport Coalition Meeting
  • Maroondah’s Forum for People with Disability and Carers
  • Meeting with Eastland Centre Management to discuss accessibility and sustainability issues
  • October’s Melbourne 2030 Councillor Reference Group meeting
  • EV’s FReeZA program
  • Campaign Enable

I will be writing a letter to the editor to challenge these remarks and the denigration of younger people within our community.