The following video comes from the August 5th Kingston Council Meeting. We suggest that this video be mandatory viewing for all residents and especially our Glen Eira councillors. Why? Because it reveals in full glorious technicolour a group of councillors who are prepared to support their community and not shake their heads and say it is the government’s fault.

The video features the debate on a vital planning document – Kingston’s Housing Strategy and how they want their city zoned. Time and again we hear the majority of councillors stating clearly that they have to listen to their community; that they want the time lines extended past the election period, and that they want 78% of their municipality zoned as neighbourhood residential (2 storeys).

You can view the entire council meeting VIA THIS LINK: http://stream.kingston.vic.gov.au/archive/video20-0805.php

In case residents do not have the time, here are some quotes from what each councillor did state:

WEST: ‘no one who is currently in a 2 storey area would find themselves pushed into a 3 storey area’…..99.6% (of submissions) opposed the council strategy….if we want to preserve the neighbourhood character of those areas (ie 2 storeys and gardens)….

GLEDHILL: I have had problems for some time where we are going with this…..this comes down to what do the people that I represent , what do they want…..overwhelmingly they have told me …that there are aspects of this plan that they do not want…..

HUA: No three storeys in our suburban streets…..

STAIKOS: We are saying tonight that Kingston council is going to put forward a plan that is in line with community expectations…..

BROWNLEES: community expectations and the view of the department…..I know we would always like to agree with what residents want….we have virtually ignored what experts have said…..we will get advice back that it’s unreasonable, unworkable, unpractical…..

OXLEY: we all know this may be a bit of a gamble and we may not get approval from the department, but we’ve got to try…..we’ve got to listen to our residents….

WEST: this is clearly what our people want…..we have the opportunity to put out something wonderful, something that our community actually wants….what we have seen tonight is people power at its best in action….and that the government will respect us with speaking in this strong voice.

VOTE: 8 IN FAVOUR; ONE AGAINST AND ONE ABSTAINED

Contrast this with what Glen Eira residents repeatedly hear – “it is the government’s fault’.

Amendment C184 is an abomination because:

  • It totally ignores community views
  • It provides no justification for the changes
  • Council is already exceeding its projected housing needs
  • And something as important as this should not be rammed through by this council

Until our 9 councillors understand that their job is to represent the community first and foremost, then Glen Eira will continue to have poor governance, poor accountability, and lousy planning decisions.