There’s a wonderful irony, if not straight out hypocrisy, in the just completed ‘consultation’ process on the ‘Community Engagement Strategy’. Last night there was a meeting of the Consultation Advisory committee which considered residents’ Submissions. The official letter of response to these individuals is below –
We point out the following:
- At the last review of the ‘consultation policy’ several years ago all submissions were published
- The submissions were presented at a full council meeting which then ratified the policy
This time, submissions have gone to the ‘consultation advisory committee’ consisting of our favourite little gang – Esakoff, Hyams, Lipshutz and Penhalluriack. Using our imaginations we conjure up the following chain of events last night:
- The submissions were buried under piles of other agenda items
- There was probably only 5 minutes of discussion regarding the submissions
- Councillors on the committee had not read them
- Other councillors have not read them, much less clapped eyes on them
- The ‘outcomes’ will be presented to council via the eventual minutes of this advisory committee meeting. This means that when voting to accept the recommendations of this committee meeting, the full council will also be ratifying any decisions on the consultation policy. There will be no formal council debate specifically on the question of ‘community engagement/consultation’.
So after so much fanfare about this ‘new’ draft engagement strategy the process fails to adhere to its own recommendations on ‘methodologies, tools, and methods’. Only written comments and submissions were allowed – no use of the online ‘Have Your Say’ forum; no opportunity for residents to address council on their submissions; no really informative letter back – simply the
nonsense of you’ll be informed of ‘outcomes’!
As always, this just goes to show the yawning gap between the rhetoric of this council, and the reality. And as per usual, everything is cloaked in secrecy. We therefore challenge council to mend its ways and to:
- Publish all submissions
- Permit speakers to address council on the issue – but with plenty of notice and advertising
- To account in detail for every resident recommendation that is rejected or accepted
We also extend an open invitation to any resident who would like to forward us their submission. We will put this up anonymously if you request this. In this way, we hope to ensure that if council does not publish the submissions, then at least some of these will be available to the public via this website.
Glen Eira Debates 
June 16, 2011 at 4:51 PM
With Penhalluriack as the only voice of the community on this committee residents are doomed. Lipshutz and Hyams will make damn sure that nothing of real importance to residents gets discussed much less passed at these meetings and Esakoff will sit there, smile, and keep her mouth shut. But behind the scenes we’ll have Burke and Newton orchestrating the whole damn thing. Wonder how long it will take for the minutes of this committee to start looking like the minutes of the Recreation committee that Hyams had doctored.
June 16, 2011 at 10:16 PM
The trouble with publishing people’s submissions is that they are mostly critical of the strategies and policies that are put up. Very few policies in fact are lauded as exceptional pieces of work. Now for a council such as Glen Eira this is embarrassing to say the least. The solution is therefore not to publish anything they don’t have to. I distinctly remember the damning comments that were made on the previous consultation policy. It was ridiculed and lambasted from pillar to post. That doesn’t look good out in the public domain. It’s a lot better to get short distorted summaries of what people actually said – and that’s what’s been happening most of the time. For this reason again I suspect that the Have Your Say forum wasn’t used. It’s too public. People can read what has been written – even accounting for all the planted stooges and their comments. Secrecy above all must be maintained. Keep everything under wraps. Never publish anything that is critical if you can help it. That’s the philosophy and the culture of deceit in this council that is ably abetted by the gang of four. Instead of really attempting to improve things, we are going backwards at warp speed. This latest episode and the draft policy is merely the latest instalment in this honest to god failure of governance and respect for community opinion.
June 16, 2011 at 4:55 PM
It obvious Glen Eira Community Relations Department needs a radical overhaul. This department is in charge of public relations and marketing.
Not only do we have ridiculously overpriced GESAC membership offers, but membership subscriptions are so complex (or is it that the residents are simpletons) that they have to be explained in person.
Now we also have the much touted Community Engagement Strategy being totally ignored in it’s own review. Quite an extra-orindary achievement!!!.
June 16, 2011 at 6:48 PM
wait, wait, wait, they are going to receive an award for the best written report on community engagement. that is an achievement the director of public relations can tout about. public views are not needed or warranted.
June 16, 2011 at 8:01 PM
“best written report on community engagement” – what a crock of sh*t, especially when it’s a very watered down (i.e. all substance and evaluation removed) version of Bayside. Forthright please tell us who is giving this award so we can forward them copies of the residents’ useless letters… oops, maybe that should read “useless residents”
Look at any website on community consultation/engagement/participation – the strategy and the above letter, (to quote a frequently used Council phrase) “ticks all the boxes” for a case study in what not to do it.
June 16, 2011 at 7:21 PM
To all those people who bothered to submit any opinions on this mock consultation I’d suggest that you should really take umbrage at the letter that is posted here. It states nothing apart from hollow platitudes about thanking people. But it doesn’t go further and thank them for their ideas, for their initiative, nor does it even reveal when this meeting is to take place. It’s a real brush off and tells people ‘well we’ve gone through the legal process, so now bugger off – we’ll let you know what we think when we think you should know it’. Nothing about time lines, or the ensuing processes for evaluation. It’s a charade and nothing more. With 3 of the 4 councillors totally in cahoots with such poor governance practice, then I agree that residents should’t be holding their breaths that anything in this arena will change.