Once again we have to marvel at how other councils conduct their consultation in comparison to the pseudo consultation methods that characterise Glen Eira’s approach. Presented below is a diagram taken directly from the Bayside Council website depicting their timeline for community consultation on an Integrated Transport Strategy. Please note:
- Two rounds of consultation
- Dissemination of both background and discussion papers – both with provision for feedback
- Draft follows consultation
- That this can all be achieved within a 4 month timeframe
Glen Eira Debates 
January 18, 2012 at 1:45 PM
That’s great for Bayside, but they haven’t got the anti community, pseudo independents of the likes of Lipshutz, Tang, Hyams, and Esacoff, all pushing for the exclusion of community input, because it suits their narrow (MODERATORS: phrase deleted).
January 18, 2012 at 3:23 PM
Glen Eira always has draft policies first. It’s good to see that there are some councils that use bottom up and seek residents views before a policy is drafted. This doesn’t guarantee that what residents want will be included, but at least it gives people a chance to frame a policy instead of having it created without any initial input and then imposed on them as in this council.
January 18, 2012 at 4:43 PM
The Bayside consultation frame works is nonsense. Our CEO knows exactly what residents needs and wants are, and just gives it to them. No need for all that consultation fuss and bother – time and money wasting stuff.
Newton has his finger on the pulse and has given us the world best practice and delivered stunning projects like the ….
– The design award winning GESAC
– The long awaited Bailey Reserve open space improvement
– The incredible well patronized Glen Huntly Park Mulch depot
– The MRC racecourse Glen Eira disagreement
– The impressive Booran Rd reservoir masterpiece
– The handy secondary off road road system of yellow concrete in our open space
– The locally very popular removal of the park fence in Lord Park Carnegie.
– The removal of unpopular seating in Carnegie
– The sporting cathedral in Caulfield Park, almost as good as the Syd Opera House at a fraction of the price.
– The classic rash of Porto Loo’s than we have come to love, with the added value of keeping down any minority group that may get-up to any hanky-panky
– The removal of unwanted trees that litter the municipality.
– The avant-garde tree register for Glen Eira “protecting the best of the best of the best of the best, best”
The last but maybe the most important in any CEO’s job. The selection of his staff, – – – – – Paul Burke – – – – masterful absolutely masterful lovely, divine.
Cynics – Yes – we could follow the try-hards in Bayside, Stonnington, Monash or anywhere else in fact, but why, when we a right here in Glen Eira the very best CEO with such an outstanding ability to deliver time and time again just what the residents want and when they want it, with absolutely no consultation.
He even has an award or two for excellent, and praise from no-other than the Auditor General.
Be proud Glen Eirirans even if all around us achieve and excel – we can be different and still hold our heads high.
PS. Some toot paper in the Loo’s would be nice, just in case you didn’t bring your own. Modern civilisations runs on flushing toilets plus the paper. Its a mutually self supporting dual act, one without the other, leaves one in a difficult dilemma. Get Paul Burke working on that issue pronto. A man of such prodigious talent should have that little one solve in a flash.
January 18, 2012 at 5:06 PM
The community plan is coming up for so called consultation and there’s even going to be a steering committee. Whoopee – but I’m not expecting too much since this has all been done and decided in secret at the consultation advisory committee meetings. On past history what’s likely to happen is that a wonderful consultant will be employed to hold a couple of forums with preset and predetermined questions and whatever people say won’t even get a look in. That’s the history of consultation here in Glen Eira. I don’t see any reason why it should change now, especially after Newton’s got himself another two years. It’s mock consultation, mock transparency and total secrecy and stuff what the community wants.
January 18, 2012 at 7:14 PM
Reading this has led me to think back over the past year’s or so consultations that have taken place in Glen Eira. All have been disappointing and conducted under less than really open and transparent circumstances. The objectives are clear – to foster the illusion of consultation – because it’s a legal requirement in most cases – and then to ram down people’s throats what was determined from the start. Instead of hiring expensive consultants, this council could do itself and its residents a big favour by ceasing and desisting with the pretence that they actually care what residents have to say. Let’s call a spade a spade for once and have some real honesty coming out of the mouths of our councillors and the unelected fat cats who actually run the place.
January 18, 2012 at 9:48 PM
There is not a hope in hell of honest consultation in this town, the gang want the power to get what they want, not some dangerous process that delivers what the community wants. There is a difference between the two, but there shouldn’t be.