Included below is council’s latest attempt at so called ‘consultation’ methodology. Readers should carefully note the sentence regarding the delay on introducing the long awaited tree register.
Once again we find council putting off any real action which could have some major impact on development in our municipality. No reason is provided for this delay! Nor are we told which projects will push on and which others may have been delayed. As for the excuse that this is the result of COVID 19 we simply don’t buy that ridiculous claim. Here’s why:
- An amendment is required to incorporate this into the Local Law. The protocol for this is straight forward. We would be presented with an officer’s report, councillors would vote, and the documentation would then be placed on public exhibition for 28 days.
- The form of ‘exhibition’ would remain as it always has – ie public notice via the website, (admittedly not in the local paper since these have been stopped).
- Community responses would be via written submissions (email, letters).
- A council meeting would then consider the submissions and people could, if they wished, speak to their submission (available via tele-conferencing, Zoom, etc.) The number of people addressing council has historically been minimal (ie average of 5)
- The next council meeting would then vote on the draft amendment.
- It would then be submitted to the department/minister and gazetted very quickly.
Given this process we do not see how COVID has impacted in any significant way on this issue and hence why it has been put on the back burner. Please remember that ‘consultation’ for this occurred between November and December 2017. Two and a half years later nothing has happened except to delay this even further.
We can only speculate as to why this issue has been shelved in comparison to the other multi million dollar projects that council seems intent on pushing through at a time where finances for councils and residents have taken a huge hit!
As an example here are the tenders from last Saturday’s Age newspaper. Questions that could be asked:
- Do we really need ‘catering’ for councillors and ‘guests’ when we have social distancing and no community events?
- Do we really need to push ahead with the Elsternwick community hub when we don’t even have a firm structure plan in place and this is mooted to cost $32 million according to the last budget papers?
It is truly time that this council was forthcoming on all projects citing specifically which ones are on hold, which should proceed and why! That is what good governance demands and what Glen Eira City Council continually fails to provide!
Glen Eira Debates 
April 23, 2020 at 2:13 PM
Budget is a goer but not tree register. Interesting as the process for both is identical and the latter a lot quicker. Consultation has been done and the community overwhelmingly supported controls for private land. The stickler here is 3 or 4 neanderthals who don’t want any laws governing private land.
April 23, 2020 at 3:34 PM
Budgets and council plans are mandatory. Council doesn’t have any choice but to proceed with them albeit the state government has decided to give councils time until August I think to bring down their budgets. Comparing the two things are like comparing apples and oranges. Delaying the tree register has got nothing to do with the virus and everything to do with not hindering some developments in the pipe line.
April 23, 2020 at 3:13 PM
Just wait until all the trees are gone and then we won’t need to protect our trees. So necessary today and in the future to save our suburb and our planet.
April 23, 2020 at 7:02 PM
Searching Council’s website for “Classified Tree Register” yields this. Pretty doubtful they are committed.
https://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/our-city/planning-for-the-future/from-project-to-policy/classified-tree-register
Unless they have passed a motion to rescind their decision of 26 November 2019, that still stands.
8.5 DRAFT CLASSIFIED TREE REGISTER POLICY AND DRAFT LOCAL LAW
That Council notes the report and endorses that officers will prepare reports for discussion with Councillors by February 2020 prior to consideration at an Ordinary Council Meeting by May 2020.