A report on last night’s council meeting is below. The minutes of course are not up as yet, so this is a ‘preliminary’ summary of the main events.
- Elsternwick Childcare: Placards were apparently displayed by members of the Local Childcare Coalition opposing the imminent closure of the Elsternwick facility. Councillors (apart from Lobo) all trotted out the party line that childcare is not the responsibility of local government but rather the state (and federal) government! All of course were 100% committed to maintaining the centre – they just didn’t want to spend any money to ensure its continuation. That must be done by the State government. Chief proponents of this view were Lipshutz and co.
- Hyams moved an amendment to the Local Law Review committee’s recommendations that Centre Rd be considered for potential naming as an ‘Alcohol Free Zone’. This was opposed by Lipshutz with the argument that we don’t need it; that the police don’t want more work, they will do nothing to enforce it and hence the job will fall on the already overworked council officers. The amendment was eventually passed with the acknowledgement that council isn’t committing itself to anything but that by putting it on the agenda for future discussions all options are left open.
- Murrumbeena planning application. Placards were again held up with the signage ‘save our suburbs’. Instead of 3 to 4 storeys and 80 odd apartments, this development was ‘reduced’ to two storeys and (only 50) apartments. Traffic congestion was acknowledged as a potential problem!
- Lobo attempted to raise the issue of ‘unauthorised sporting activities’ again, with his ‘request for a report’. There was no seconder, so the motion lapsed.
- Penhalluriack requested a report on the discussions and decisions made between council and the MRC over the Caulfield Racetrack. Lipshutz queried whether this was necessary since it might create the impression that councillors did not have full faith in the officers. This was also commented on by Hyams. Forge then stated that perhaps any report need not be made public, but just kept to councillors. Penhalluriack agreed with this and assured everyone that he was not implying anything about officers.
- Public questions again featured many from the Social Soccer Club. Responses were per ‘normal’.
Glen Eira Debates 
October 13, 2010 at 7:54 PM
I have been going to quite a few Council meetings over the last year and all I can say is that your comment is crap. Child care is so important and it is fantastic that Neil Pilling and Lipshutz are at the forefront of trying to save the Glen Eira Childrens Centre. Lipshutz and Hyams were both clear that it was not up to State government generally but in this specific instance it was clearly up to Brumby as he could save the centre. Aas for the rest of the evening, Councillors all got on with the business except Lobo who wanted to play to the gallery. Can anyone make head or tail about his pithy sayings
October 13, 2010 at 9:24 PM
It seems that you are far from ‘informed’, informed resident! Council’s consistent mantra for the past decade has been ‘it’s not our job’ to provide childcare and kindergarten care. The onus has stealthily been put onto state and federal governments as well as the private sector. In this manner council may keep its hands in its pockets! We refer you and other interested readers to:
1. a transcript of a debate on Channel 9 in 2007 where we have the following dialogue –
HELEN DALLEY: While many local councils remain committed to subsidising community-based child care centres, Glen Eira’s move indicates a definite trend -that all levels of government are increasingly backing away from providing child care, leaving it to the private sector and market forces.
PAUL BURKE: The private sector, more and more, is moving into areas that traditionally the pubic sector had been the service provider. There are now child care companies listed on the stock exchange. It’s become a business.
HELEN DALLEY: Do you think it’s an area that will take over more from council operated centres?
PAUL BURKE: I think there is a very real chance of that. (Crisis in Childcare: Ninemsnnews 4/6/2007)
2. In response to a series of public questions regarding places in kindergartens, part of council’s non-reply featured the following paragraph – 13th October, 2009 (Public question response) – “the Victorian Government has been allocated $210m in Federal funding to increase the provision of four year old kindergarten and Council has lobbied for a fair share of that money to be spent in Glen Eira.” (Minutes of October 13th, 2009)
3. We also suggest that you carefully digest the budget submission put in by Save Local Childcare Coalition and the fact that these residents have done the work that council officers should have done! More to the point the following articles in the Leader clearly reveal council’s position –
“The council, which refuses to find a replacement building, has told parents their children will be absorbed into its Caulfield, Carnegie and Murrumbeena centres and private childcare” (July 23rd) AND
“Council spokesman Paul Burke said a recent Federal Government report showed supply of childcare services exceeded demand and the council found another venue was unnecessary.” (9th June)
4. There there are these lovely speeches in parliament dating back centuries in one case –
Rob Hudson – april 13th, 2010:
“To provide just one example, the City of Port Phillip has spent over $4 million on new kindergartens and children’s hubs in the last three years. During the same period the Glen Eira City Council has not made any application for children’s hub funding. As a result of this lack of investment by the Glen Eira City Council the waiting list for kindergarten places in the city blew out in October last year to 146. While that was eventually reduced to less than 30, thanks in part to the state government making Caulfield Primary School available as a kindergarten, this is still totally unacceptable. Every four-year-old is entitled to one year of preschool, and the Glen Eira City Council should ensure that there is a sufficient number of kindergartens in the city for that to occur. ”
Mr Scheffer – 5th November, 2003
I raise a matter for the attention of the Minister for Community Services in the other place, the Honourable Sherryl Garbutt. The role of the City of Glen Eira in the steady privatisation of child care has been a growing concern to local parents. In recent days the issue has erupted again with Sunday’s edition of the Caulfield Glen Eira Leader running two separate stories on what it calls the child-care crisis and on the council’s September decision to close the Caulfield Children’s Centre. The Glen Eira council says the centre has to close because the facility would not meet new state government standards. The council says it cannot afford the upgrade. I have called for the council to apply to the Victorian government for a three-year exemption to give it time so that the centre’s 75 children and their families can keep using the service.
A report by the City of Glen Eira states that demand for child care in Glen Eira currently exceeds places available, and I suspect that the council is prepared to reduce its level of involvement in the provision of child care because it wants the private sector to fill the vacuum. I ask the minister to provide me with information on what the Bracks government is doing to support local government such as the City of Glen Eira to maintain the role in the delivery of child-care services at a time when the challenge is on to improve operating standards in child-care centres.
Local parents are campaigning to keep the Caulfield Children’s Centre open and are meeting with councillors to press their case. I strongly support their efforts. They want the right to choose community-based child care and they want Glen Eira council to maintain a strong presence. The Glen Eira report states that the total number of children in the 0-to-6 age group in Glen Eira will fall by about 10 per cent in the next 20 years but also says that demand may be influenced by work force participation levels – and increase.
Local parents say actual birth notifications show a steady increase in recent years and that the percentage of first-time mothers in Glen Eira is significantly higher than the state average. The report also states that the size of the market has expanded rapidly over the past decade and will continue to do so. The council is not especially concerned over the loss of child-care places when the Caulfield Children’s Centre closes. They know the private sector will pick up the shortfall.
While many parents are very happy with privately operated centres, a significant number want community-based care and are appalled by council vacating the field so that right now it provides only 16 per cent of the centre-based places.”
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There has never been the intention to locate another facility, build one, hire one, renovate one, etc.etc. The motion passed was simply more of the same – ‘commitment’ without funding; ‘commitment’ that only goes as far as ‘advocating’ to government! In other words, bugger all!!!!
October 13, 2010 at 9:46 PM
Well there goes any hope that Cheryl Forge would make any difference to council.
As a supposed opponent of over-development she toed the line on the Elsternwick development. Then she suggests that a report on discussions between MRC and council not be made public.
October 13, 2010 at 10:58 PM
Oh my “rose colored glasses” friend. Lipshutz and Hyams where absolutely clear. Clear on passing the buck and putting it on someone else. If they would only put as much effort in approaching State or Federal Representatives to get support for the Child Care Centers we may be directing our energy to other things. If they really cared they would act like leaders and lead by example. Get off their posterior and do some leg work in getting the support needed as opposed to passing the buck.
As for Lobo, let’s analyze the situation. Taking you back to Primary School. Where you ever present when a child was bullied and cornered? The kid would find the courage to take a couple of swings but in the long run would concede to the numbers. Oscar if you read this, mate keep swinging. Unlike Magee, Pilling, Penhalluriack who are quite content in taking their little wins whilst supporting the Bullies.
Cheryl Forge, I still have hope for you.
October 14, 2010 at 4:12 PM
The more things change the more they stay the same. Bring on the 4th investigation and then we might get to the truth and weed out the rubbish.
October 14, 2010 at 5:26 PM
Speaking of soccer, there is a gentleman that sits quietly listening and during the break, speaks with Cr Magee, Cr Lobo, Cr Penhalluriack, Cr Pilling and now Cr Forge.
He’s been attending Council Chambers on and off for the last two years.
Over time, I couldn’t help over hearing the issues and my heart goes out to him for his continued persistence and attempts to help the community he represents.
Issues like:
1. No female Facilities.
2. No Disabled Facilities.
3. Under utilization of council open space.
4. Lack of communication between council and his club.
5. What can he do, to assist in opening dialogue, etc.
Someone should advise this man to stop wasting his time.
He is speaking with the wrong people. Unless he is speaking with Cr Tang, Cr Esakoff, Cr Hyams and Cr Lipshutz nothing is going to happen.
If anything I give him 10 out of 10, for his commitment and perseverance. Maybe he should run for Councilor.
October 15, 2010 at 12:38 AM
Tang, Esakoff, Hyams and Lipshutz – are they the 4 heavies who rule Council?
They wont be heavies if the other 5 vote against them, oopps I forgot you would have to be a Councillor with guts to do that.
October 18, 2010 at 9:52 PM
Having read this blog and others I am convinced that it would not matter who was on Council, nothing Councillors do is right. IMHO saying Tang, Lipshutz, Esakoff and Hyams are the heavies is an insult to the others who carry the same weight. One need only listen to Pilling or to Magee or Pehalluriack to realise that they are independent thinkers. I don’t agree with many of the decisions but give the Councillors a go. From where I observe sound decisions are being made and by the way has anyone bothered to talk to the “heavies” who are the hardest working of the Councillors.
October 20, 2010 at 10:11 AM
One can conclude from this statement that this is an admittance that the so called hardest working Tang, Lipshutz, Esakoff and Hyams are the “Heavies”.
Should one have to hunt down one councilor at a time to get some action? Or should the councilors be vigilant and address “discriminatory issues (such as no female and disabled facilities in 2010)” as they come to hand? It looks like they have known about this for years and as per normal snubbed it off to the side. “Out of site out of mind”.
Why should one have to speak with Tang, Lipshutz, Esakoff and Hyams?
One should be able to speak with a representative of council and be heard.
With regards to the balance of individuals on the council this is the problem. They are “individuals” and not a “team”.
Councilors are voted in to represent their wards but more importantly they are representatives of the municipality as a whole.
Just a parting comment to the “informed resident and the councilors”, sometimes you need to put your egos aside and just get things done as a team. Prioritise and addresses the things that are necessary to the community such as female and disabled facilities and maybe then you will be looked upon as a “team” that listens and empathizes and gets the job done.
October 25, 2010 at 1:26 PM
Dear “informed resident”, what does Pilling, Magee and Penhaulluriack know about Victory Park? Ever since this blog was raised, I made the time and have recently been down to Victory Park. Personally and this is purely my opinion, the Pavilion is an unworkable design. No wonder there are issues. Compare Victory Park to Duncan McKinnon Reserve you can quite easily say that Duncan McKinnon Reserve (as it stands today) is “a modern state of the art facility” and yet it well on the way to getting pulled down and replaced prior to Victory Park. I wonder which Councilors created this priority list? How does this make any sense?
October 20, 2010 at 10:46 AM
Does anyone know as to which ground these issues are relating to?
October 20, 2010 at 11:35 AM
Victory Park!
October 21, 2010 at 10:17 AM
Victory Park. Isn’t Cr Hyams a representative of this ward. Why isn’t he looking into this? Oh, I forgot he doesn’t live in the Tucker Ward, he lives in Ormond. I guess you need to live in the area to be aware of what is going on. Maybe they should put a book club at Victor Park that way he may show some intrest.
October 25, 2010 at 10:51 PM
Are you serious? He represents the Tucker Ward and lives in Ormond? No wonder there is greater support in what happens in the Camden and Rosstown Wards and nothing in Tucker Ward.
October 25, 2010 at 2:25 PM
I walk my dog around Victory Park and over the years have noticed the people using the pavilion during the winter months. I have seen that from several years ago the girls have long gone and there are only a couple of young ones left. I can only assume it’s because of the lack of facilities available to them as mentioned here. They are a great group down there, very polite and very family orientated. I suppose if my rates where to apply to anything I guess I prefer them being put to something like promoting a family orientated environment. Goodness knows, now days we need it more than ever.
October 25, 2010 at 3:07 PM
I hear the girls are coming back to Victory Park as it is an inconvenience for the parents to be driving one child to one facility and the other child to another facility. I guess you could understand the parents frustrations being on the road all night.
October 14, 2010 at 8:57 PM
For goodness sake it’s not 1910. The council can spend millions on GESAC, Caulfield Park and now Duncan McKinnon Reserve but can not deem it a priority to provide essential services to kids. What kind of world are these Councilors living in? Two years you say? I wouldn’t have lasted two days before tearing down walls.
October 15, 2010 at 7:29 AM
How many times have we heard, and I quote “Glen Eira Council is one of a few Councils with the least amount of open space”. Why wouldn’t they be listening to his suggestions?
October 17, 2010 at 3:06 PM
No Female or Disabled facilities?
Wait till Current Affairs or Today Tonight hear about this one. This maybe the sort of Publicity this Council needs to wake up to itself.