The sign placed at the now defunct mulch heap attempts to lay the blame for the closure of this facility squarely at the feet of councillors. What the sign does not disclose is the reasoning behind councillors’ decision – namely, that it represented a risk to both employees and the public. No matter how remote this risk may have been, councillors acted appropriately – in stark contrast to the audit committee and the CEO in failing to provide the scientific consultant’s report to ALL councillors at the earliest opportunity and initiating action.
In the minutes of 3rd March 1997, a report written by Newton states that it was ‘decided that it would be desirable to have a comprehensive set of written policies on all areas(s) of Council activity’. He goes on to state that “in most cases policy ought to be approved by Council. This would give clear authority to the policy being laid down. It would also require reconsideration by the Council itself if the policy is to be amended (good corporate governance)”. So, it is Council, who is to set policy, or to change policy. Under the same item, the ‘Occupational Health and Safety Policy’ was voted on. It states:
“Management has a duty to provide and maintain so far as is practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to health. All staff have a duty to report and assist management to correct unsafe conditions”.
“…the organisation makes the following commitment – We will not knowingly engage in any activity or provide any service unless we can perform the activity or provide the service safely”.
“This policy recognises that the health and safety of all employees of the City of Glen Eira is the responsibility of Management…..”
One of the tasks and procedures adopted was to ‘Promote proactive risk identification, assessment and control programmes that embrace the principles of effective risk control”.
It should never have taken the persistence of one councillor to get things done. It also should never have been ignored by the Audit Committee, and it should never have had to come to a vote at council meeting. The onus was on management to ensure that the mulch heap was 100% safe. The fact that it was even moved into an area adjacent to a playground, school, and public park is beyond belief. As Mr. Newton stated so many years ago – the blame must be laid at management’s feet!
Glen Eira Debates 
April 17, 2011 at 4:11 PM
Mulch heaps aside, these quotes tell us that council ratifies policies. I then want to know when and where is the reasonable laws reasonably enforced policy hiding? There are a few others that should also see the light of day such as policies on cleaning drains, renewing drains,pruning park trees. Hiding them away as Newton does means that incompetence can never be found out and that the public doesn’t even know what to expect. All policies and guidelines must be available to the people who pay these bludgers their $220,000+ wages, not to mention Newton plus $300,000.
April 17, 2011 at 5:36 PM
Anon what about having the courage to put your name to the above. Your nothing but a coward.
April 17, 2011 at 6:07 PM
Dear Ex Councillor,
we have previously stated that the issues we present are the focus. That’s what’s important – not who wrote the posts. Further, every single word from this post, and others is taken directly from council agendas and minutes. The conclusions drawn are based on the evidence. We will continue to present information in the public interest in similar ways. You may not agree with us, but everyone is entitled to their opinion!
Where we have made errors (and there have been two thus far) we acknowledge our mistakes.
Finally, the choice of reading or not reading this blog is entirely up to you!!!
April 17, 2011 at 10:04 PM
The photos that came with Penhalluriack’s appeal to the Audit Committee and which Newton ‘accidentally’ forgot to publish the first time around, shows bobcats climbing up the mountains of mulch. They are very precariously perched on top of this mound at a very ungainly angle. I don’t think it would have taken much for one of these to capsize and then the possibility of a fatality. The shed was simply too small and should never have been erected and certainly not where it was.
If ex councillor Erlich can’t understand the need for absolute safety on all fronts, then it just shows us the kind of councillor he was back then.
April 17, 2011 at 10:49 PM
Thanks for stepping in GlenEira, but I can handle this nincompoop myself. I would put my name to comments if I could believe that vindictiveness wasn’t the way these people functioned. They are bludgers because they spend half their time plotting and scheming and covering up their balls ups instead of really serving ratepayers. Their pay keeps going up and up and we’ve got nothing to show for this. It’s highway robbery. There have been a few posts on the ‘fat cats’ in this council. As far as I’m concerned, they should get half of what they’re paid. Better still, they should all be sacked.
April 17, 2011 at 10:05 PM
How dare you condone the behavior of calling our Senior Officers bludgers. Show us the so called evidence on which we can draw this conclusion. Everyone knows that these Officers are unable to answer these accusations and I will do what I have always done and that is protect the Leaders of Council’s greatest asset, it’s Staff.
April 17, 2011 at 10:13 PM
Dear Ex Councillor,
we do not ‘condone’ anything. We are simply the conduit for ratepayers to express their opinions! Secondly, may we suggest that prior to your wild assertions you check the facts – councillors and administrators are free at any time to have their ‘right of reply’ according to council’s own meeting procedures. In fact, we have extended an open invitation to all councillors and administrators to state whatever they like. Unfortunately, no administrator has taken up our offer!
April 17, 2011 at 10:13 PM
Colin I have never seen any photo’s or for that matter a copy of the Consultants report. If they exist then please share them. It’s show and tell time.
April 17, 2011 at 10:17 PM
The photos (only black and white as opposed to the original colour) are available in the last minutes and extracts from the consultant’s report are contained within the Penhalluriack approach to Newton.
April 17, 2011 at 10:21 PM
Check Pilling’s blog. The recommendations are there too.
April 18, 2011 at 10:13 AM
Again I vigerously object to Senior Officers being labelled bludgers by anonymous people.I have again looked at the poor quality photo of the bobcat and I take Colin’s expert opinion that it is being used in a dangerous way. The Consultant must have missed that point, so does that indicate the quality of their work or Colin’s opinion. Futher the recommendations you point to, are not the full report which I have never seen,and could someone point out the recommendation by the Consultant that the Bin should be removed. Also Colin could you explain how the Mulch Bin affair, which I know little about, in some way was indicative of my actions as a Councillor.I recall that the biggest risk to our Staff and Constituents was in the form of a Motor Car. Perhaps we also should remove them?
April 20, 2011 at 7:44 PM
Penhalluriack was the most vocal opponent of the mulch pile , closing this free service will ensure that residents will now purchase mulch from his garden center , the closest place to the pile to sell mulch , has this been considered ?
April 21, 2011 at 7:16 AM
That’s right Peter, with all Penhalluriack’s resources his burning ambition is to be mulch king of Caulfield. And guess what,he’s using an independent body’s health and risk report to do it!!!!
April 21, 2011 at 12:35 PM
Ben you may want to look at teh below link. Gunn’s also commissioned an independent report when presented with the same idiotic accusations back in 2009
http://www.agrimoney.com/printnews.php?id=825&area=n
April 21, 2011 at 1:51 PM
Ah, Gunns, the Tassie timber co., currently facing a class action suit from shareholders for misleading the market (Age, April 21, 2011).
Yep I’ll give that the attention it deserves.
April 21, 2011 at 3:33 PM
Peter Strock aka Ron Clover aka Anonymous aka paris aka Noel Erlick aka whatever – I read your link and the difference here is that the independent report in the Gunns case found no legionella whereas the Glen Eira one found traces. Major difference. Lets face it, Council have let the community down badly by putting such a dangerous facility next to a kiddies playground, the people most susceptible to an outbreak and death. Where was the risk assessment? Who authorised the facility to be put there? Why did the Council Audit committee cover up the independent report? These are the questions that must be answered before the community can once again have trust in Glen Eira Council.
April 27, 2011 at 10:15 AM
John C …get your facts right . no traces of legionnaire disease was found stop your scaremongering ..
April 20, 2011 at 8:23 PM
Mate, you are an idiot of the highest order. Penhalluriack is the messenger, the independent report said that it was a deadly site near a kids playground. You obviously don’t have kids. Surely those who made the decision to put the mulch heap there should be sacked. So who are they and have they been given the arse?
April 21, 2011 at 9:17 AM
To my knowledge, no-one has been held accountable – yet. Gibbs and Mclean are still on the audit committee as is Lipshutz. At least Magee had the common sense to realise his mistake and vote for the closure. Newton and Burke, well their time will come but unfortunately they are still there.
April 29, 2011 at 10:32 AM
Anon..The report didn’t say it was a deadly site at all http://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/Files/April05-2011AGENDA.pdf, please do your research and stop these personal attacks and write some informed comment ….
April 20, 2011 at 9:01 PM
Click to access Conflict_of_interest_in_local_government_March_2008.pdf
I think Peter makes a valid point, especially when you consider the above Ombudsman’s report. I particularly like this part,
‘The Local Government Act sets out requirements for the conduct of councillors, obliging them to declare certain interests and prohibiting them from voting on matters in which they have a conflict of interest, as defined under this Act.’
April 21, 2011 at 5:12 PM
Well in the April Joural of the AEU, the Health and safety officer wrote an article about several teachers being severely debilitated because of teaching in classrooms where the carpets gave of airborne moulds and caused severe long term respiratory problems. One teacher seems to have been effected permanently and the Vic. Govt. Education Department paid her a six figure sum as compensation. What will we be up for if our young children in the Glenhuntly Park or the students at Glen Eira College contract respiratory problems or if one of the thoroughbreds in the nearby stables inhale the poisonous airborne moulds.
May 25, 2011 at 4:19 PM
Yes i agree lets ask council to ban carpets in Glen Eira …
April 27, 2011 at 3:19 PM
I noticed in the Caulfield leader the following “Victorian health dept’s Stuart Adcock said “there is no evidence to suggest that wood chips have ever been the souce of legionella disease” So who is telling us the truth then
April 29, 2011 at 10:28 AM
Seems that some council members think they are smarter than expert views…
May 25, 2011 at 3:12 PM
The mulch that was available freely at Glen Huntly Reserve is now being supplied to residents when they use the Bundled Branch Collection Service. Clearly there is no real health risk or the mulch would not be distributed.
May 25, 2011 at 4:16 PM
Yes anon the whole mulch fiasco doesn’t make any logical sense , it seems it will not just go away like the councilors hoped with three more letters in the leader today …it takes a big man to admit they got this wrong and take notice of the community outrage….
May 25, 2011 at 7:55 PM
Yes Gardenvale Park is hardly used any more, lets move it there.
May 25, 2011 at 9:57 PM
As a resident of Elsternwick, please do not use our local park as a dumping ground for dangerous mulch. Children use our park and are not aware of the dangers and could accidently eat it. Please do not send it to our park.
May 26, 2011 at 10:55 AM
Yes i agree there are lots of schools in Glen Eira that has mulch in the playground area please get rid of this mulch as kids might eat it also please don’t mulch in parks as kids play there and might eat the soil or mulch
May 26, 2011 at 8:03 PM
Move the mulch heap to the Carpark at town hall. Would only take up a couple of spaces, and you won’t get the compliants from all the NIMBYs not wanting it in their park.
May 27, 2011 at 9:28 AM
Seems that alot of people are scared of death by mulch ..btw NO one has ever died from mulch , fear in the community is unwarranted…