Grant response not so quick Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au A COMMUNITY group that became embroiled in a political stoush and legal threats over funding from ratepayers has again applied for a grant from Kingston Council. Kingston Residents Association, a group of residents who work with all levels of government “to make Melbourne’s City of Kingston a better place to live”, has applied for $2000 through council’s newly established Quick Response Grants program. The KRA wants the grant to pay to print and mail out newsletters “to keep the community informed by having regular consultation to develop partnerships for the highest community benefit”. A council officer assessment of the KRA grant application tabled at the latest council meeting found the application “meets all the assessment criteria, however a reduced grant is recommended to allow opportunities for other individuals or groups to access grant funds”. “A grant of $200 is recommended subject to written confirmation that newsletters will not promote activities that are contrary to a council decision or policy,” the report said. The KRA lodged an appeal to VCAT in 2014 over council’s decision to grant a permit to remove vegetation to build a one kilometre section of the Bay Trail between Charman Rd and Mentone Life Saving Club. The community group unsuccess-
fully appealed to stop “excessive” vegetation removal to pave the way for the shared cycle and walking trail. Councillors decided to defer a decision at council’s latest public council meeting on handing over any money to the group. Cr Paul Peulich said the KRA request for ratepayer funds “needs to be examined in further detail”. “We’ve had in the past council funds that were dispersed through ward funds or through a grant allocation process which have been used for purposes to campaign against a council decision on planning matters,” Cr Peulich said. “There have been groups who have used council funds to launch VCAT appeals and campaign against council decisions and while it is any individual or group’s right to do so it shouldn’t be at the expense of ratepayers.” The Quick Response grants replaced the previous councillors’ ward grants program last November after the state government axed discretionary ward funds amid concerns most councils across Victoria had inappropriate measures in place to stop potential misuse of ward grants. Council officers, not councillors, initially decide whether to recommend Quick Response grant applications for approval. In 2013 former Mordialloc Liberal MP Lorraine Wreford accused the KRA in Parliament of being a clandestine Labor Party front “propped up” by ratepayers’ funds.
Grant delayed: KRA president Trevor Shewan says application met council criteria.
Ms Wreford later apologised for comments she made in Parliament about Cr David Eden after he gave $1500 in ward funds to the KRA (‘Wreford apologises, defamation case over’, The News 24/6/15). Cr Eden then dropped defamation proceedings against Ms Wreford. The KRA was founded by Nick Eden, the father of Cr Eden, and
was passed on to the stewardship of former KRA president Maureen Lim who now works as an electorate officer in Carrum Labor MP Sonya Kilkenny’s office. Dylan Steed, who also now works in the office of Ms Kilkenny, succeeded Ms Lim as KRA president for a brief time. Cr Eden’s allocation of ward funds to the KRA came when Ms Lim was the group’s president. Councillors Tamara Barth, Steve Staikos and Rosemary West also contributed ward funds cash to the group “for community advocacy” in 2013. Former Kingston councillor Trevor Shewan is the current president of the KRA. He says the group has 24 members and he made the application for a Quick Response grant on behalf of the KRA in March. “The Quick Response grants have criteria and we met the criteria and that should be the end of the story,” Mr Shewan told The News. Three previous KRA newsletters were provided to council to support the grant application. Mr Shewan said he is not a member of the Labor Party. Councillors will now decide later this month whether to back the council officer’s recommendation to grant a reduced $200 in funding to the KRA. “Kingston allocated $50,000 to the Quick Response Grants at their November meeting in 2015,” Mr Shewan said. “There is no shortage of funds.”
Police patrol
Smash and grab OFFENDERS used concrete paving stones to smash their way into a Braeside factory to steal go-karts and parts valued at $10,000 at 1.10am last Thursday (5 May). They also set fire to a filing cabinet outside the Kevlar Cl premises, possibly as a decoy to the robbery, Mordialloc police said later. The thieves stole a vintage go-kart, dragged a second go-kart from a workshop and removed the engine from another go-kart which they dropped onto the floor before running off. Police also found a child’s car seat and burnt-out toolbox on the nature strip. CCTV footage is being examined for clues. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.
Beware scammers A CHELTENHAM man, 61, was defrauded of $2000 in a bogus ATO scam, police say. The man was told over the phone that he must pay outstanding tax debts. He was ordered to a nearby supermarket where he used his credit card to buy iTune vouchers, as arranged by the scammers. These were quickly redeemed and no more has been heard from them. The victim is now attempting to seek compensation from his bank. Police warn that scammers frequently target older victims, usually over the phone, and threaten serious consequences if bogus “debts” are not paid promptly.
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