Sporting groups support Caulfield park frisbee teens
16 Oct 12 @ 05:00am by Jessica Bennett
Glen Eira Council told teens they could no longer play Frisbee in Caulfield Park without a permit.
SPORTING groups have pledged support for a group of frisbee-loving teens forced to halt their weekly game in Caulfield Park unless they pay the council $120 for a permit.
They gathered casually most Fridays to play frisbee in the park, until a council officer told them to stop until they had a permit for their “organised” sport.
Simon Talbot, president of Ultimate Victoria – the state’s ultimate frisbee-governing body – said it had unsuccessfully tried in the past to set up a formal arrangement with the council for frisbee players at Caulfield Park.
“We heard about this group (being kicked off) and are more than happy to help them deal with the council,” Mr Talbot said.
Heads of State Frisbee League president Matthew Hill offered the group a free place in their men’s league at Alma Park.
Tal Silverstein, the mother of one of the players, said they communicated who would play via Facebook, but that was the only organisation. “They don’t all go every week, they have no coach, no uniform and no league – how is that organised?”
Glen Eira Council did not return Leader’s requests for comment.
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Letters to the Editor: Land is for public use
Crown land is public land, to be provided for the enjoyment and benefit of Victorians.
There are several types of management arrangements for Crown land, including trusts, local government control, Parks Victoria and so on.
But with each management type, it must be maintained for a range of community uses. Is this the case with the current board of trustees at the Caulfield Racecourse?
What is the harm in opening their meetings to the public? Surely, this is in the spirit of the trust’s responsibilities?
Kate Dempsey, Independent candidate, Camden Ward, Glen Eira
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Caulfield project monstrous
Regarding “Caulfield Racecourse Reserve chairman told to resign” (Leader, October 8), I hope they also ask whoever voted for the Caufield Racecourse development.
This highly controversial 20-storey monster will change the face of once-wonderful Caulfield forever.
Congestion and pollution will be the new norm. I certainly won’t be voting for the councillors who imposed this on an angry community.
Christian Stewart
PS: LATE NEWS ITEM
Footy group demands answers on use of Glen Eira parks
16 Oct 12 @ 01:21pm by Donna Carton
GLEN Eira councillors will be grilled tonight on the issue of unathorised games in local parks.
Following last week’s furore, when teenage frisbee players were told to stop their weekly game unless they paid $120 for a permit, a local soccer-playing group said the issue needed to be clarified.
The Caulfield Park Social Soccer Club says it has been paying for a permit for years, despite being just a weekly group of players and not an official organisation.
Spokesman Nick Varvodic said he would ask 15 questions of councillors at tonight’s meeting.
“Does our informal, once a week, gathering of friends to play a casual sports game in Caulfield Park require a permit?” he has written to Cr Michael Lipshutz.
“We are still confused after six years. So, for clarification and no ambiguity on either side could you please answer with a simple, Yes or No?”
Mr Varvodic said some councillors responded to the news of the frisbee ban with suggestions the local law concerning unathorised games be overhauled.
He said he hoped his “informal group” would be treated the same as the frisbee group in any law change.
Last week East Bentleigh mum Tal Silverstein revealed her 18-year-old son and his friends played frisbee in Caulfield Park most Friday afternoons until “someone from Glen Eira Council made them stop the game.”
“They said it was an organised sport and that they couldn’t play without a permit,” she said.
The council is now in caretaker period because of the October 27 election, and the council’s caretaker policy states: “Public questions at council meetings, which would normally be recorded in the minutes, should avoid ‘electoral matter’ and a question may be ruled out of order on that ground.”
Tonight’s Glen Eira council meeting is at 7.30pm at the Glen Eira Town Hall, Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield.
Glen Eira Debates 
October 16, 2012 at 10:44 AM
Christian the Trust has nothing to do with the proposal you are concerned with, and Kate, if you had any local knowledge you would know that the Racecourse is, and always has been, available for public useage and access, and that the main task of the Trust revolves around a Commecial Lease which is Confidential.
October 16, 2012 at 10:54 AM
This latest example of sheer stupidity is par for the course when it comes to common sense and action in Glen Eira Council. The issue of “organised” sporting groups is nothing new. In fact, the minutes of 26th May, 2003, contain this resolution –
Crs Grossbard/Hyams
Council resolves that;
1. It is inconclusive whether Stephen Gorenstein and like individuals are
participating in or allowing formal, structured or organised sporting
activities under Council Local Law 326.
2. Stephen Gorenstein and like individuals who are not playing under a
club or any other form of structured association may continue using
Glen Eira sporting and recreational activities at their own risk.
3. Stephen Gorenstein and like individuals be required to continue to
negotiate with Council in good faith.
The MOTION was put and CARRIED unanimously.
Now, 9 years later and after the footy ‘schleppers’, ‘kids in the park’, and two bouts of ‘frisbee’ fiascos, nothing has changed. We remind readers that both Hyams and Esakoff were around in 2003, and that Lipshutz and Tang since 2005. They have all obstinately refused to resolve this issue once and for all.
But the issue goes even deeper than letting a bunch of kids run around our parks. At the heart of this entire matter is the question of sporting ground allocations and the ceding of all control to unelected officialdom. In other words, letting officers, instead of councillors run the show. We remind readers that:
• There is no public document detailing any grounds allocation policy
• There is no public document detailing the criteria for allocation
• There is no public document defining what ‘reasonable laws reasonably enforced’ actually means
• There is no public document defining why a casual soccer group requires a permit and past Frisbee players with associations with Lipshutz and Tang, don’t
• There is no feedback on council resolutions to accept the Sport & Rec committee recommendations to ‘monitor’ the situation – especially since this committee hasn’t met for a year!
• There is no feedback on what the Local Law committee under Lipshutz has been doing for the past year on this and other issues
Sporting allocations are obviously important in Glen Eira. They impact on thousands of individuals and groups. That makes it even more essential that everything be out in the open and transparent. We’ve already seen the costs (legal, emotional) of councillors abdicating their responsibilities and allowing unelected bureaucrats to control this aspect of people’s lives (ie GESAC basketball courts; Ajax/Caulfield Bears footy clubs). All it would take is a simple resolution to ensure that transparency occurs and that councillors do the job they were elected to do – safeguard the interests of residents. After 9 years of cow-towing and abdication of their responsibilities, the election booth will hopefully resolve the issue.
October 16, 2012 at 11:59 AM
Thanks for this background Gleneira. I hadn’t realised that this has been going on for so many years. Makes the situation more ludicrous and tells me what a bunch of sissies the gang really is where they put Burke and Newton before residents.
October 16, 2012 at 12:53 PM
We’ve received this email from Candidate Hsu.
“Dear Glen Eira Debates
Please find below my statement in relation to the Caulfield Park Frisbee matter.
As someone who works with young people on a daily basis, it is important to continue to ensure that young people are given easy access to parklands and recreational facilities. These activities have a greater role to play in our society. It allows young people to channel their energy towards healthy activities and allows them to engage with their peers. We should be actively encouraging our young people to participate in sports activities, recreational clubs and volunteering opportunities. These engagements assist with the development of social skills and interaction between young people. It also helps eliminate isolation problems that teenagers experience. As a Student Academic Advisor working for a university, I see hundreds of students every year experiencing social, mental health and personal difficulties and they are often linked with being disengaged and withdrawn from their peers.
It is under such principles that I support our resident’s right to access public facilities. We must draw the line somewhere. Will the council next be charging casually formed walking groups around the park or serial picnic goers for a permit? We should be assisting young people in our area to pursue sports and recreational activities rather than hindering such access.
Ryan Hsu
Independent Candidate for Rosstown Ward
City of Glen Eira
Ryan.hsu@bigpond.com
0498 530 599
Facebook: ryanhsumelbourne
COMMENT: Dear Mr Hsu, unlike many other councils, Glen Eira DOES CHARGE for booking a barbecue/rotunda/open space. This includes public liability insurance and is over $120 per booking. In our view, since all residents pay for public parks via their rates and charges, it is somewhat inequitable when some residents, and often commercial companies, are given “priority” because they can afford the charges. It is not unusual to find such bookings from 9am to 10pm in the evening – hence technically denying access to other park users of these rate paid for amenities. We further believe that this is simply another cash grab by a rapacious council.
October 16, 2012 at 1:25 PM
Dear Glen Eira Debates
Thank you for your follow up comment. It will be duly noted. I also agree with your proposition that residents already pay for their amenities and facilities through their rates. It therefore seems rich and inequitable for the council to be double dipping, especially when it comes to open spaces such as parklands.
I understand that under certain circumstances a levy may be charged for certain facilities and services. However, the function of parkland and the diverse range of activities undertaken in them should be taken into consideration when forming policies in relation to service provision and charges.
Kind regards
Ryan Hsu
Independent Candidate for Rosstown Ward
City of Glen Eira
October 16, 2012 at 2:04 PM
The question on my mind is whether Hyams and the gang will pull the swifty of saying that all questions on frisbee is harassment as they’ve said before. What I’m very happy about is that this will be the last meeting where we have to suffer hyams as mayor and his very peculiar interpretations of how meetings should be run and how to gag people when he doesn’t like what they’ve got to say.
October 16, 2012 at 8:32 PM
I totally agree that as long as the questions are valid then there is no justification for Councillors to use the excuse of Harrasment, that is just a cop out that we shouldn’t tolerate.
October 16, 2012 at 7:53 PM
For the cynical I pose the possibility that a councillor “set up” the frisbee fiasco. Hoping for some airtime or a bit in the paper with name recognition.
Seems to have worked. Of course. only a rumour.
October 16, 2012 at 10:33 PM
I’m told that if four or more people are playing on a major sports groundwithout approval, parks staff have been asked to ask them to move.