BendigoWeekly www.bendigoweekly.com.au
ISSUE 964 FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2016
A Big Give for the community The Community Foundation for Central Victoria enables people to give where they live. They are backing Big Give, a community giving day for locals to get behind not-for-profit organisations and community groups – Story Page 5
2020 VISION Photo: ANDREW PERRYMAN
COMMENT By PETER KENNEDY
IN exactly six months or 183 days’ time, Greater Bendigo will have a new group of councillors to represent the residents and ratepayers of this city for the next four years. Suffice to say, and from a long way back, interest in these elections is already at elevated levels. There has been a steady number of potential candidates coming forward, eager to put themselves out there for consideration once the opportunity arises, and that’s a good thing. Doubtless to say, there will also
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Pressure builds for next council
be more in the months ahead. Our current group of councillors will limp towards the next elections with mixed reviews of their performance. They are both winners and losers in the electoral sweepstakes…. And the fact that there have been so many highs and an alarming number of low points during their tenure cannot be forgotten. There have been four code of conduct findings against four councillors,
although one continues to linger. The toxic relationships that exist between some councillors have been laid bare in documents lodged with the VCAT. That should be embarrassing to those concerned and if it’s not, then we have a problem. It’s human nature, but we do tend to remember the bad things more so than the good. The image of our council, and of our city, has undoubtedly been dented by some recent events, but
Anzac Day details – Pages 10 and 11
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a wounded council is still getting things done. Recommendations arising from the independent review of council operations have largely been implemented under the stewardship of this current council and the council officers. Regular monitoring and reporting of the city’s progress continues. The calls upon this paper to undertake extensive diligence of potential councillors and to scrutinise all contenders for the October 22 elec-
tions have never been greater. Whether that goes to simple dissatisfaction with the current crop of councillors or a broader acceptance that we need to get local government back on track, remains to be seen. Bendigo does deserve better, but recent council elections have shown it can be easier to get elected than it is to live up to the hype and to actually deliver. In many ways, our city is at the cross roads. We have been named and shamed for the vocal antics of a few and this has undoubtedly damaged our city’s reputation.
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