Lobbying campaign gets facelift Flag raised
for same-sex marriage
Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au AN ALLIANCE of six councils that lobbies state and federal governments for investment in the south east has been rebadged and relaunched but ratepayers are in the dark about how much the renewed lobbying push will cost. The South East Melbourne Group of Councils (SEM) includes Frankston, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Kingston, Casey, Cardinia Shire and Greater Dandenong councils. A new website at southeastmelbourne.org and launch event on Friday 15 September at Greater Dandenong council offices in Dandenong mentioned on the group’s new Facebook page flagged a new look for the group. The site domain name was registered last year by Damian Mannix at The Agenda Group, a public relations and lobbying firm. When contacted, Mr Mannix confirmed the firm registered the website address on behalf of the SEM group of councils. The Agenda Group has offices in Melbourne’s Queen St, Sydney and Canberra according to the firm’s website. Mr Mannix is chairman of the Program Advisory Committee at the RMIT School of Applied Communications. He confirmed he is a Labor Party member when asked and was named as a preselection contender for the seat of Mulgrave won by now Premier Daniel Andrews in 2002 when asked by The Times. The Agenda Group’s government relations director is Richard Allsop who is also a research fellow at right-wing think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs. Questions subsequently emailed to The Agenda Group were answered by Mornington Peninsula Shire CEO Carl Cowie. “The Agenda Group is funded equally by the
Mayors meet: Kingston mayor David Eden, left, Cardinia Shire mayor Brett Owen, Frankston mayor Brian Cunial, Premier Daniel Andrews, Greater Dandenong mayor Heang Tak, Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Bev Colomb and Casey deputy mayor Susan Serey. Picture: Facebook
six councils,” he said. “The fees are commercial in confidence.” Mr Cowie confirmed “the South East Melbourne alliance of councils has operated for many years”. “It has been reinvigorated and relaunched as SEM to ensure state and federal governments understand the needs of the south-east region and the opportunities that can generate jobs growth and improve the lives of residents,” he said. “The Agenda Group provides policy, communications and administrative support to SEM”. The SEM group’s site lists the councils’ priorities as a way of “driving growth and prosperity” in the south east. The electrification of the Frankston line to Baxter, the need for a south eastern airport and
the rollout of high-speed internet access to business precincts are listed as priorities on the site. “There are many council alliances already working across Melbourne,” Mr Cowie said. “The south-east region also needs a strong voice to ensure we have the best opportunities for our residents and businesses and compete for funding and investment.” A second major container port for the state at Hastings is also listed as a priority despite a majority of councillors at both Frankston and Kingston councils voting to drop support for the idea in recent months. Infrastructure Victoria has earmarked Bay West near Geelong as the likely location of a second port when the Port of Melbourne reaches capacity in decades to come.
Continued from Page 1 Cr Geoff Gledhill said he didn’t think council should push its views on same-sex marriage on to other people although councillors are free to individually declare how they will vote in the Australian Bureau of Statistics managed postal survey. “I’m very happy with the notion of marriage equality and I certainly hope it’s successful.” Crs Barth, mayor Cr David Eden, Georgina Oxley, Steve Staikos and Rosemary West voted to raise a rainbow flag as a council public show of support for marriage equality. Crs Bearsley, Brownlees, Gledhill and George Hua voted against the move. Despite the differences in opinion about council publicly supporting marriage equality all councillors unanimously voted to “express support and solidarity with members of the Kingston community and Kingston staff who identify as LGBTIQ particularly through this period while the voluntary postal survey on the marriage act is being undertaken”. Australians are being advised to send back completed surveys in free post-pay envelopes sent out by the ABS before 27 October to meet a 7 November deadline for the collection of votes ahead of the survey result on 15 November. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said last week federal MPs will vote on the legalisation of same-sex marriage if a majority of Australians who complete the survey vote ‘yes’ to the question “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?” listed on the survey form.
Golf course development drives on Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au DINGLEY residents who fear a plan to subdivide the Kingswood Golf Course into 514 lots for housing will drive traffic congestion will have their formal say on a planning application by property fund manager ISPT submitted to Kingston Council. A majority of councillors voted at Monday evening’s public council meeting (25 September) to ask Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne to begin the exhibition process for community feedback on the proposed housing development.
Many residents, rallied by the Save Kingswood group, also say wildlife will be impacted by the removal of thousands of trees and vegetation to make way for housing. “We accept that going to the Minister and exhibition and therefore having an ability to object is the best way to go,” Save Kingswood Group Incorporated secretary Kevin Poulter said. The application submitted to council by Melbourne-based ISPT states about 11 hectares, just over 20 per cent of the site at 179-217 Centre Dandenong Rd in Dingley Village, will be public open space. “With the exception of the water bodies which are proposed to be
vested in Melbourne Water, all areas nominated for public open space would become council owned,” the application states. Mr Poulter said the open space pledge is “horrendous”. “Twenty thousand trees are going to be bulldozed and they get away with that because officially a tree is not a tree unless it is 1.1 metres in circumference,” he said. “A gum tree might be 30 or 40 feet high but not meet the 1.1 circumference.” He said some of the open space will be a retarding basin for water overflow so is likely to be “soggy wet ground”.
Mr Poulter said the group’s members will make submissions to the planning process. North ward councillor Steve Staikos stressed at Monday’s meeting that council has not yet decided to approve or reject the planning application. “Opening this consultation period doesn’t mean council has made up its mind on which way to go and we won’t be making up our mind on which way to go until we see all of the submissions from the residents and have an opportunity to examine those,” he said. Cr Geoff Gledhill, a Liberal Party candidate for Mordialloc at next year’s state election, welcomed com-
munity input into the planning process. “Put bluntly, if council were to reject this at this point obviously it would go straight to the Minister and council’s participation from that point on, we could make a submission. If we hear directly from the community via the proper exhibition process then we as a council are still working with the community,” he said. “I want the community to be well assured that we are acting in their best interests and, as far as I’m concerned, it is imperative that council stays part of this process as long as possible.” Continued Page 4
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Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News 27 September 2017
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