Both Lobo and Delahunty were apologies for tonight’s Council Meeting. Here are the lowlights:
- Lipshutz played the race/religious card again in announcing that next council meeting he would be putting together a formal statement about the Friends of Caulfield Park’s newsletter which used the term “storm troopers” in response to Council dawn removal of 21 trees.
- Visitor car parking item had Esakoff crying crocodile tears with her added clause to the motion that council investigate some tools to alleviate the worsening parking situation.
- Car share trial got up – begging the question of course, as to why this couldn’t have been resolved one year ago
- Public questions revealed that the Dover Street car park ‘redevelopment’ was to lose another tree but gain more yellow brick roads and concrete plinthing. The question called for details. The answer was ‘generalities’.
- Apart from these items, this was a quick, self-congratulatory meeting where Glen Eira was ‘tracking well’ and compared to other councils, the best in the state according to some councillors!
Finally, and we will be making a major post on this tomorrow, the minutes were accepted without any correction. Needless to say, they are not an accurate or true reflection of a resolution that was passed on December 17th! Keep watching this space!
Glen Eira Debates 
February 4, 2014 at 10:46 PM
If anyone should take offence, then it is residents of Glen Eira against the continued arrogance and insulting behaviour that Lipshutz consistently displays against residents and anyone who dares question or oppose his actions in this council.
Maybe the directors of Star Wars should also be sent off to the anti-vilification tribunal since they were called Storm Troopers too. Maybe Lipshutz had better look up the history of the term as well, since it originated during World War 1 well before any Nazi party was born or even thought of. His “sensitivity” is deplorable and the hypersensitivity nothing more than that of a meglomaniac who will use any means for political and personal advantage.
The multitude of insults that he has hurled at residents over the years is deplorable. Codes of conduct mean nothing to him and when it comes to conflict of interest then that applies to everyone else except him and his cronies. This man in my view is a liability and not an asset to the vast majority of residents of Glen Eira. The sooner that we are rid of him, Esakoff and Hyams, then the better off race relations will be in this municipality.
February 5, 2014 at 8:19 AM
No matter which way you look at it the Caulfield Park tree episode was a blatant display of arrogance, refusal to enter into meaningful dialogue and total disregard of the community.
Unbelievably this appalling episode is now being made worse by the arrogant, “hide thicker than a rhinocerous”, Lipshutz suddenly and without a leg to stand on introducing anti-semitism.
Perhaps, before Lipshutz continues down this ill-fated path he should take a look at the language used by Council in their communications to the Friends of Caulfield Park. Council’s insulting and abusive trail of correspondence is readily available on the FoCP facebook pages. It makes a mockery of any claim of “valuing community input” and Council’s own “Have your Say” rules of etiquette (which every Council letter breaches) turns Council into a laughing stock.
February 5, 2014 at 9:00 AM
Instead of trying to impute race or religion into the widely used and accepted term “storm trooper”, I’d rather Michael put his efforts into letting the community know why he, as Chair of the Local Law Committee for almost a decade, has been utterly unable to come up with any Clause/s related to Tree Protection. Thanks to him, Glen Eira is without any Tree Protection Policy or Local Law Clauses – and in this regard it stands alone.
If others can do it and manage it, why can’t this one?
February 5, 2014 at 9:41 AM
Here’s the gist of what Lipshutz said – Referred to an ‘article’ and ‘flyer’ by Friends of Caulfield Park which ‘evoked the image of Nazi Germany’ by using ‘storm troopers as a measure’ and that this was ‘very hostile to the Jewish people’ in Glen Eira. He then said he was foreshadowing his reply, would look at the article and that people were ‘offended’.
February 5, 2014 at 10:45 AM
I’m Jewish and are not the least bit offended by the words
February 5, 2014 at 12:45 PM
I<m Jewish, so is my partner and from what I have read here, we wouldn't be offended. Who does this Lipshutz character think he speaking for, not all Jews in fact most Jews wouldn't finf this anything out of the ordinary day to day speak, to suggest it was a bait to hurt Jewish residents in nonesense. Cr. Lipshutz needs to get out more often into the real world.
February 5, 2014 at 3:20 PM
I call on the Caulfield Park Group to remove the word used because it is hurtfull to some members of our Community. Lets get back to the issue at hand and remove Lipshuts’s oxygen. .
February 5, 2014 at 3:32 PM
Agree, let us all keep the high moral ground and not stoop to the low levels of Newton, Burke, Lipshutz, Esakoff, Hyams, Gibbs and McLean. This should apply to all Glen Eira Councillors, residents and staff.
February 5, 2014 at 5:10 PM
Lipshutz pulls out the old race card again. Does he realise that Jewish people are not the only ones in this community and it’s a bit rich from him of all people talking about racism remarks.
February 5, 2014 at 7:15 PM
My partner is Jewish, and say Lickchops is a dill, and not that respected among most of the widercJewish community he claims to represent, and is mostly thought of as a self-adulating xenophobic 1950’s man