There can be no excuse for what is proposed for council’s Community Engagement Strategy. The vote on Tuesday night will seek to endorse a strategy that has been rejected by a council resolution on the 23rd February 2021. This resolution still stands!
Council’s presentation for this item is deliberately false, inaccurate, and devious. First off, we are told that the attachment represents the endorsed Community Engagement Policy from 2020. Here is the (false) presented version . Please note the highlighted sections at the bottom of the table.
On the 15th December 2020 the draft contained the following. Again, please note the highlighted sections and compare with what is now suggested as the 2020 policy.
Following public consultation, councillors voted on the 23rd February 2021 as follows:
COMMENTS
It is simply staggering that council should attempt to present such false information and in doing so, over-ride a clear councillor resolution. Secondly, if this is passed then it achieves a reduction in community input to the most important aspects of council’s operation – ie strategic planning and policy development. As we’ve stated in earlier posts, Glen Eira compared to other councils is determined to limit resident participation as much as possible. ‘Inform’ and ‘Consult’ are the lowest rung of the engagement ladder according to these councils and the IAPP principles. (see: https://gleneira.blog/2021/01/07/consultation-2-2/. But what is even more damning is our allegation that this is deliberate and an attempt to bypass and ignore a councillor resolution as well as limiting community participation. It is unconscionable!!!!
Glen Eira Debates 
November 20, 2021 at 12:26 PM
No way is this a mistake. Why its an appendix instead of being part of the strategy itself requires some explanation. Again deliberate. Full marks to the site for pinpointing the abuses of this admin.
November 20, 2021 at 12:57 PM
Consultation is a joke in Glen Eira. Reporting on consultation is an even bigger joke. It’s designed to get the results they want. This strategy does nothing but enshrine current practice. It’s meant to keep residents at bay whilst pretending that we are so transparent and caring. Nothing could be further from the truth.
November 20, 2021 at 12:39 PM
At least this manipulation is being done in plain sight. Imagine what goes on when councillors make decisions in secret and in defiance of the Local Government Act in Assemblies of Councillors eg advisory committees where only one councillor might be present, no delegated authority, with minimal record-keeping, and no transparency or accountability.
November 20, 2021 at 1:06 PM
Disgusted with this council and the lies they foist on the community. Whoever okayed this has to go.
November 21, 2021 at 9:28 AM
Fudging data is nothing new to Glen Eira. The long time tradition of keeping residents at bay or as irrelevant as possible continues to be alive and well. Tuesday night should be an insight into whether any councillor will comment or maybe even challenge the legitimacy of the report.
November 22, 2021 at 11:28 AM
Thanks for identifying this discrepancy. I will ask for it to be corrected.
I asked for the original changes (increases) to some scheduled minimum levels of community engagement in December 2020 (last year), and the two documents should definitely match. It is an unfortunate error.
November 22, 2021 at 12:05 PM
Thank you for taking the matter up councillor. Even if this is as you say an “unfortunate error”, it is still not good enough when there are countless staff to oversee what is published and the historical record is available and less than a year old. I reiterate that I am of the opinion this is no mistake.
November 24, 2021 at 3:35 PM
When you have to choose between “conspiracy” and “cockup” I always believe the latter is most likely. In this case I believe you have jumped to conclusions too soon! All those anonymous residents railing against lack of consultation need to get involved themselves!
November 24, 2021 at 5:52 PM
You may have jumped to conclusions too soon. I have criticized Council about its lack of consultation and I have fully participated. “Cockup” may be the truth but isn’t a satisfactory explanation. If there are poor internal procedures then a better response is to outline the changes being made to prevent the same mistakes being made again. The State Government also has form, making changes to the Glen Eira Planning Scheme while bypassing the normal amendment process, only to have to make hasty further changes to correct their mistakes which residents pointed out, mistakes such as removing height limits on the controversial tower element in “Caulfield Village” [sic].