We thought it would be instructive to see how Glen Eira may have changed over the years – to discover whether processes, services, and governance practices have actually improved in the past 6 years. Our guide has been public and councillor questions dating mainly from 2004. We conclude that basically residents have the same concerns today as they did six years ago – childcare, aged care, openness and transparency, effective communication/consultation and planning issues. Reading these questions it is obvious that nothing much has changed in Glen Eira – except that public questions are no longer taken on notice. The quality of current answers however is another issue!! These questions provide a sad commentary on how little has actually been achieved.
“As Council has made a profit from selling of aged care facilities within the City and not actually increased places in the City, I ask what is being done with the profit and further what is being done to seek government funding in order to increase aged care facilities in the City?” (26th May, 2003)
“What are Council’s public policy objectives for child care and how do they achieve them?”(3rd May, 2004)
“The treatment of Childcare under the State Government’s new competitive neutrality policy requires the implementation of a public interest test prior to the application of CN pricing because of the inherent public policy issues associated with childcare.Can Council please explain why it has failed to undertake a public interest test prior to applying CN pricing policies to childcare services?” (3rd May, 2004)
Cr Sapir referred to a public interest test and asked if one had been carried out and if so to what degree. She further asked; “what consultation process did Council take to advise parents that there was a proposed fee increase”? (24th May, 2004)
“Why Minutes of Council Meetings are not available for distribution on request at the Caulfield Library? Should not that be part of standard policy of engagement of the community? Ready availability of such documents should add to the proper governance of the Council?” (24th May, 2004)
“Can you please advise why did the Council cut down several 25 to 30 metre high trees on the corner of Jasmine and Birch without consultation with the near byresidents?” (9th Feb, 2004)
“Since the Glen Eira Council has decided to stop subsidizing childcare centres with ratepayer income in the next financial year, will Glen Eira ratepayers see a reduction in rates as a result?” (22nd March, 2004)
“Re Council Statement of Financial Performance to 29 February. Can you please reveal the source or sources of the above budget revenue of $954,000 from ‘other’sources in above budget? Have our drillers struck oil?” (22nd March, 2004)
“How does Council justify that public questions that were asked in March 2003 have received a response on 6 April 2004 advising that the questions do not conform with Council’s public question time procedure. Please provide appropriate and specific explanations as this does not comply with acceptable time frames to me as by now I have given up on getting adequate answers from Council.” (13th April, 2004)
“Why won’t Council undertake a ‘Public Interest Test” on childcare to assess community response?” (15th June, 2004)
“The Community Plan that was passed this evening is supposed to provide a plan for the community to use as a means of measuring Council’s performance up to 2010. The indicators for 2010 however need further clarification. Which 3 park masterplans are intended for development? What does Council mean by consulting with the University? What are the character amendments that are to be adopted?Which community centre is to be built? What about the 3rd community centre? What are the implications of keeping rates to at least 10% below our 7 Benchmark Councils? These are but a few questions that need to be answered in a Community Plan that purports to be a vision for the future?” (15th June, 2004)
“We would be most grateful if a meeting could be arranged with relevant councillors and staff (prior to the release of second round offers scheduled for 27th August), in order to discuss the Council’s enrolment policy which fails to give priority to the children currently attending ‘3 year old kinder’ and who wish to continue on with their pre-school education at the same kinder the following year?” (16th August, 2004)
“As Cr Erlich has observed the report to tonight’s meeting is interesting but unless a measure of input is used together with output, it is largely meaningless from the point of view of effectiveness. Will Council consider reporting the appropriate ‘INPUT’ as well as ‘output’ in future service reports?” (6th September, 2004)
“Will the Council apply its generous concessions given to tennis clubs to childcare centres and if not could it please explain why the council’s policy that services used by a minority of the community should be cost neutral and not subsidized by ratepayers, applies to childcare centres but not tennis clubs?” (27th September, 2004)
“The Agenda papers for Council Meeetings have for some time included public questions and answers. I note that the Agenda papers have, for the last 2-3 meetings, not included Public Questions and Answers. Can Council explain why this is so? Is there anything preventing Council from continuing with this practice?”(8th November, 2004)
“Of all C type Amendments proceeded with a statutory process:1. How many have used the full statutory process of 6 steps? 2. How many use only 2 steps? 3. How many used broad community consultation prior to step 1 of the statutory process? and 4. How many used a public discussion paper as part of broad community consultation prior to step 1 of the statutory process?” (29th November, 2004)
“Will Council put the proceeds from sale of Council land toward purchase of alternative open space in Glen Eira, & that purpose only.” (29th November, 2004)
“The Minister for Planning announced that Councils may apply for a number of interim height controls to provide for greater certainty for residents & developers. Will Council take up on this initiative?” (29th November, 2004)
Glen Eira Debates 
January 13, 2011 at 12:04 PM
Glen Eira has really hit the nail on the head good and proper with this post. After all this time the problems are still the same. Not enough childcare, aged care, proper planning and consultation with residents and certainly not enough openness and transparency by this council. even Sapir a councillor couldn’t get the information she wanted without having to ask for it publicly. Would have thought that this information should have been freely available to all councillors and that they would have been consulted on this. This tells me one thing and one thing only. As long as Newton is in charge then secrecy will be maintained at all costs. Governance is just a word with no real meaning in Glen eira. These councillors should understand this simple principle – people have a right to know what is going on and how their money is being spent. We’re not living in Russia or China and we’ve a right to state that we want money spent on childcare, aged care, and proper planning.
January 13, 2011 at 3:41 PM
I’ve looked up the Local Government Act to see if there is anything there about service performance. Under what is called ‘Best Value’ there is listed that a council must:
“achieve continuous improvement in the provision of services for its community;
a Council must develop a program of regular consultation with its community in relation to the services it provides.”
I’d argue that services to childcare, aged, rubbish collection, tree mainentance in parks, have all gone backwards. As to real discussion and asking the community what they really think about the above services, this has been non-existent. What has happened is that meaningless and inaccurate plans and policies are produced which are nothing more or less than motherhood statements. They sound good on paper and that’s about it.
If the law says one thing and this council fails time and time again to act in accordance with these laws then there is something drastically wrong with the way it is being run.
January 13, 2011 at 9:21 PM
Sell offs, increased rates and charges, but no increase in open space and no improvement in what information is released to both councillors and residents. The patterns are set and still going on today. Perhaps the only difference is that councillors are now so bluffed into silence that the fireworks of 2004 and 2005 don’t appear (at least in public).