These are the facts currently facing Glen Eira:
- a ‘high risk’ council as determined by the Auditor General
- a liquidity cash crisis due to GESAC
- repeated statements on the need to curb spending
So, given these circumstances, it is absolutely astonishing that we find the following Media Release by the Minister for Sport & Recreation.
Funding boost for new playspace at Murrumbeena Park
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Families in the Murrumbeena area will soon have access to an exciting new accessible playspace thanks to $258,921 of Victorian Government funding set to go towards a new community facility at the popular Murrumbeena Park.
Minister for Sport and Recreation Hugh Delahunty visited Murrumbeena Park today to announce the funding boost from the latest round of the Community Facility Funding Program.
“Local parks provide a fantastic outdoor space for families to get together, socialise, enjoy a picnic, relax or get active,” Mr Delahunty said.
“The proposed new playspace will add a whole new dimension to the Murrumbeena Park, providing even more recreation options for this growing community.
“This new project will introduce a variety of new play equipment to excite and challenge children of all abilities and backgrounds, testing their dexterity and, most importantly, encouraging fun activities,” Mr Delahunty said.
The project includes the development of a new regional playspace and social area featuring play equipment that ranges from junior to senior level and will be complimented with creative garden landscaping.
Mr Delahunty said the new playspace was also designed to complement the park’s existing charm and character.
“Murrumbeena Park is also home to several local sports clubs including the Murrumbeena Football and Bowls Clubs.
“Once fully established the new play space will encourage not just local kids but the whole community to venture outside more often to exercise, socialise, join a club and get more active, more often,” Mr Delahunty said
“By investing in high-quality, accessible community sport and recreation facilities across Victoria, the program goes a long way towards increasing participation and improved access to sport and recreation activities in communities like Murrumbeena,” Mr Delahunty said.
Mr Delahunty congratulated the City of Glen Eira for contributing $776,764 towards the project.
COMMENTS:
- A playground already exists (see photo below)
- The $776,764 does not appear anywhere in the 2011/12 budget
- Did councillors know of this proposed expenditure & grant application?
- Why does it seem that all grants have something to do with either sport, or appearance? How many applications have gone in for structure plans, transport plans, children’s hubs, etc. etc.? The real ‘nuts and bolts’ for successful planning?
- Why is council now spending another million dollars on a park when we have a ‘cash crisis’? What does this say about the financial management of Glen Eira and the strategic directions being pursued?
Glen Eira Debates 
January 19, 2012 at 9:20 PM
I’m all for playgrounds and nice facilities. But and this is a huge but, if the damn thing already exists and you’re facing potential financial ruin, then the last thing you should be doing is spending all this dough on more concrete and play equipment. It is incompetent in the extreme – especially when not in the budget which means that this council hasn’t given its formal approval. It is Newton and his mob acting unilaterally again and to hell with governance.
January 19, 2012 at 9:26 PM
No question it’s profligacy. Newton and our present councils’ legacy will be to leave the residents with a few wasteful big spend monuments and heaps of debt.
Added to which there is the ‘you-know-who’ factor with the allocation of goodies for park works. Princes Park, Caulfield Park and Duncan Mackinnon have funds lavished on them, while others like Koornang, Gunn, Murrumbeena, Lord Reserve…… get patch-up work at best. Disgraceful!
January 19, 2012 at 10:05 PM
Meant Moorleigh not Murrumbeena in the second para. 😳
January 19, 2012 at 9:44 PM
The incompetence is just mind boggling. In recent times we’ve had the Elster Creek balls up where it’s likely that a public path was built on private land and the budget provides another $100,000 to be spent on this extravaganza. Next we’re probably paying wages for months on end for hired staff for gesac; a million spent on a car park and relocation of playground at gesac, and now another million for a playground when everyone is screaming blue murder cos we can’t afford to spend a penny more than has been budgeted. What the hell are these buffoons doing? Newton, Burke, Swabey, Akehurst and the rest have just got to go and our lousy councillors have got to start asking questions and taking charge of this whole mess.
January 19, 2012 at 10:07 PM
Lovely ain’t it that residents have to find out such things from an external source rather than council itself! Says plenty about how this pathetic lot communicate with their residents and the non-explanations they provide for the wastage of our money. Hide everything you can should be the slogan that’s up with the logo.
January 19, 2012 at 10:17 PM
I can’t wait to see the $100.000 worth of yellow concrete and $60.000 worth of plastic surfacing. And all the trees for 50 metre radius removed. 100% CEO guaranteed to be far worse than the one it replaces.
January 19, 2012 at 10:50 PM
I find all of this quite extraordinary. In private business Newton would not last two minutes and all councillors as equivalent directors would be tossed out on their ear quick smart. How on earth have we got to this stage where it’s as plain as the nose on your face that councillors do not run things or even know what’s happening – yet they’re the ones legally responsible. Money is splashed hither and thither without being part of any community plan nor budget. Even when it gets into the budget I’d bet my life that councillors don’t understand what things mean. The perfect example is when Hyams won the lucky dip for mayor he was congratulated on being the only one who actually read the annual report! This says a lot about councillors. If they can’t be bothered reading the annual report, then I’d bet they don’t look at the budget but just accept what Newton and Swabey tell them. As for the audit committee they’re another dead loss. To be expected of course with the cosy relationships that have developed between Newton and Gibbs and Mclean over the past 15 years. This is a poor excuse for a council and we’ve got to make sure that things change and fast.
January 20, 2012 at 10:06 AM
The Audit Committee appears in Local Government Inspectorate’s 2010 investigation of Glen Eira Council as the source of Complaint #20. Looks like there’s some bad blood there too, since councillors didn’t do as the Committee wanted (although technically, they *did* do as the Committee asked).
January 20, 2012 at 10:06 AM
Wondering if this is a part of the ‘master plan’ for Murrumbeena Park done some 10+ years ago. If so, given the age of the master plan consultation should newer consultation be done? At the time of consultation the Junior FC had approx 3 teams, as a guess they now have around 10. The senior Club had 2 teams and now has 3 teams. Obviously needs of the Club’s and Community may have altered. From memory the plan had provision for a childrens’ playground in the south east corner, and a teenage play ground located where the existing playground is. Is there a plan that Council can publish on this site?
As an aside, as President of MFC at the time, I wrote to Justin Madden (Minister of Sport & Recreation) in September 2001, requesting a meeting with him due to “concerns and lack of straight answers by the responsible persons at Council”. It was refused.
Also wondering if the ‘pavillion upgrade’ plan is still in operation and if so is the budget for the plan being adhered to? From memory the allocation was 2 million per year.
Any Councillor reading this… it would be appreciated if you can update me on the above questions and supply the plan in question. And what’s going to happen with the Carnegie swim site?
Rob Spaulding, former President MFC, former Councillor.
January 20, 2012 at 11:23 AM
You raise some interesting issues here Rob. It’s not the first time that master plans are ten years out of date (Caulfield Park) and budgets are massaged accordingly. It’s also interesting that your concerns about ‘responsible persons’ date back to 2001. Nothing appears to have changed with further formal investigations occurring. Perhaps you would consider asking some of the above as public questions at the next council meeting?
January 20, 2012 at 11:46 AM
I think it’s worth noting that the vast majority of important strategies and plans in this council date back literally to the last century. Open Space is 1996; Neighbourhood/Housing is late nineties as well; the 80/20 housing diversity and minimal change areas from about 2002. All that’s happened with these crucial policies is a slight, ineffectual tinkering at the edges instead of continual and regular review and renewal – and in some cases, total amnesia. Rob Spaulding’s question about pavilions is also relevant since this was supposed to be reviewed on a regular basis. It dates from 2007 and apart from expenditure on pavilions which seem to move up the list, nothing has been done. This also applies to street/traffic management. There’s a priority list – when was the last time that this was updated and reviewed?
It’s of course in the interests of Newton to maintain the status quo. That ensures that nothing changes, work load is minimal, and all efforts are concentrated on the superficial and creating more and more white elephants. I suspect that no other council has this same approach to its policy review and renewal. It’s totally negligent if this council is being run on policies that were devised over a decade ago.
January 20, 2012 at 10:29 AM
So according to the AG Glen Eira is in financial bother. Rubbish. Any Accountant reading the Budget and Projections will note that what we have is carefully constructed Financial Management of Funds given high Capital Works expenditure. Glen Eira spends over $40m per annum on Capital Works which is a huge amount and benefits us all. Further the City has $35m cash in the Bank (some restricted) and a forward Budget which is on track and being exceeded producing surplus”s .If and I say if, Council has a cash flow problem all they have to do is delay Capital Works. Simple. The other end of this is that Income is stable and highly predictable. Glen Eira ,this Council is 200% safe and being very carefully managed Financially.
January 20, 2012 at 2:23 PM
Hey Noel, did you get Burke to write this little piece of public relations bullshit?
January 20, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Not a peep out of council on receiving this grant. Strange, strange especially since they always have a big publicity campaign telling us how wonderful they are in getting these grants. Bet they’re spitting chips that the Minister revealed how much we’re putting into this venture and we didn’t know a thing about it. Will be good to hear how Lipshutz and Newton wriggle their way out of explaining why this isn’t in the budget and when the whole thing was conceived.
January 20, 2012 at 4:05 PM
Colin, your words have been answered. Here’s the official ‘Media Release’ from Council. Ex-councillor Spaulding’s questions are also answered. We find that this is part of a 2002 Master Plan. Well done Glen Eira, it’s only taken 10 years to get onto things. Of course, no mention of the three quarters of a million dollars that Glen Eira is proposing to spend!
Friday 20 January 2012
Grant for new play space at Murrumbeena Park
The State Government will contribute almost $260,000 towards the development of a new children’s play space at Murrumbeena Park.
Announced on Thursday 19 January by Minister for Sport and Recreation Hugh Delahunty MLA, the grant is part of the State Government’s 2012–2013 Community Facility Funding Program — Major Facilities.
Glen Eira Mayor Cr Jamie Hyams said the relocation and playground redevelopment was recommended as part of the Murrumbeena Park Master Plan which was adopted in 2002.
“The proposed new play space will be more than just a playground — it will provide a stimulating and challenging environment for children of all ages and abilities,” Cr Hyams said.
“It will feature a number of unique elements, such as wooden sculptures and interactive sound pieces, as well as a range of play equipment, including a cableway and pod spinner.”
Cr Hyams said the new play space will enhance the current range of play opportunities in Glen Eira and provide additional opportunities for family gatherings.
“The inclusion of seating and picnic areas, in addition to the existing sporting areas, community hall and walking tracks, will create an accessible, family-friendly park that can be enjoyed by everyone,” Cr Hyams said.
January 20, 2012 at 8:50 PM
Accountant
I suggest you go back and do your own sums this time. Don’t blindly follow the council PR spin machine. You claim council has $35m cash in the bank, but those are old figures. A couple of years ago there actually was that sort of cash around. It was part of the proceeds of over $50m in land and asset sales organized by Newton. Then came the mighty GESAC scheme, and blew it all away.
Think about it. If it were really true that there is still $35m lying around, why hasn’t council used it to pay off the $25m GESAC debt? Think of the ten or fifteen million in interest we would save. We would even get our AAA credit rating back. Remember for years Newton was bleating about the importance of reducing financial RISK. Now is his chance to practice what he once preached. Pay out the debt, Andrew, and bring that huge loans risk back to zero.
If Andrew paid out the debt, the Auditor General would no longer be embarrassed, and could stop sending his special investigators to Glen Eira audit committee meetings. Importantly. the AG could then focus his attention on keeping better tabs on Glen Eira’s notorious, multi-million dollar accounting “fundamental errors”. Errors for which the Glen Eira administration has now become famous, (or infamous), in Government circles.
January 20, 2012 at 10:44 PM
The $35m figure is at least 2 months old and a more up to date figure will appear in the next Agenda. I think the next Rate quarter is due around then and the figure may be higher but will reduce as Capital Works tend to be completed and paid for in the last half of the Financial year. I also in brackets said that some of the balance is restricted. eg accommodation bonds.The Council cannot just pay off the pool loan out of these funds because cash disbursments are not even. What you have not accounted for is the fact that Council Funds are safely invested and are a great little earner. These earnings to a degree help cover interest on the pool loan. Andrew Newton never proposed this pool and is responsible for construction only because Feldman and his fellow Councillors approved this project. The borrowings are the responsibility of Councillors who have complete controll of the annual budget.
January 21, 2012 at 9:43 PM
Does anyone have any information as to whether the playground is moving to the other end of the park per the 10 year old plan, also, will the ‘tan’ be replaced with concrete? What about the skate park?