Shire starts campaign to ‘stay the same’ By Keith Platt MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has launched a campaign to retain one councillor in each of its 11 wards. The move has been prompted by a review of “electoral representation” being carried out by the Victorian Electoral Commission. The campaign echoes one in 2005 that saw councillors, shire employees and Liberal Party members mount similar arguments to retain singlecouncillor wards across the peninsula. Submissions to the latest review close 15 August and councillors have already endorsed governance and corporate support manager Noel Buck’s recommendation that the number of councillors and wards remain the same. Although that decision was made at council’s 14 June meeting, the preferred position is already being sold to ratepayers through an article in the May edition of the council’s Peninsula-Wide newsletter. The shire-financed campaign also includes mailouts to clubs and organisations, website space and simultaneous public information sessions on 3 August at the shire’s Mornington, Hastings and Rosebud offices. The article in Peninsula-Wide, although not attributed to a particular author, said “single-councillor wards
Status quo: Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Graham Pittock is campaigning to retain one councillor in each ward.
allow us to be responsive and accountable at a local level, while at the same time working as part of a team to tackle the bigger, strategic issues facing the whole shire”. The article says any new “structure” adopted by the VEC would be in place for 12 years “so it’s important the community has the opportunity to have input”. The article says single-councillor wards are “clearly the favoured system of our community”.
“At the last electoral review in 2005, Mornington Peninsula Shire residents overwhelmingly rejected a push to introduce multi-councillor wards, inundating the VEC with submissions to maintain the single-councillor model.” The 2005 review led to two extra councillors being added to the council, taking the number from nine to 11. The VEC favoured the shire having four wards (three three-councillor wards and one two-councillor ward), but bowed to the shire’s preference for 11 single-councillor wards. Of the 77 preliminary submissions received by the VEC in 2005, 61 favoured retaining the existing nine councillors elected from nine singlecouncillor wards. A check of submitters revealed many were either council staff, councillors or members of the Liberal Party. The mayor Cr Graham Pittock is quoted in last month’s Peninsula-Wide as saying “a move towards multicouncillor wards would open the way for party politics or voting ‘blocs’ to enter council”. “The single councillor ward system maximises accountability by each local councillor to their ward or electorate and in having the smallest possible ward size makes it affordable for local people to run for council without needing to have the backing of a political
Find out about your local sewerage plan Project Update
party or any other ‘power base’,” Cr Pittock said. “This shire has an excellent record of working with both the state and federal governments, and the fact that the council works positively with whoever is in power is clear evidence of the council’s non-partisan approach.” Cr Pittock is quoted as being concerned about some of the shire’s smaller towns and villages being left “without effective representation under multi-councillor wards”. In his 14 June report to council, Mr Buck said legislation provides for between five and 11 councillors. “Due to the number of voters being represented by each councillor (estimated at 13,300 voters per councillor), the number of councillors should remain at 11. It would be unusual for the VEC to recommend 12 councillors, due to greater potential for tied votes and casting votes for council decisions.” Preliminary submissions to the latest VEC electoral review close on 15 August. For more details, visit www.vec.vic. gov.au or call 131 832. The VEC guide for submissions and an information brochure will be available at shire offices at Mornington, Rosebud and Hastings from mid July.
Grants for bush work THE Mornington Railway Preservation Society, Friends of Mornington Foreshore and Mornington Peninsula Shire will benefit from Bush Guardians grants of $14,500. The grants are to protect native plants and animals in Mt Eliza, Mornington and Mt Martha. The railway society will use its grant to remove weeds such as watsonia and preserve the increasingly rare purple donkey orchid (pictured). Friends of Mornington Foreshore will continue the work removing polygala (milkwart) and grass weed that threaten orchids. Weeds will be removed in Mt Martha Park Reserve by the shire. The Bush Guardians program aims to protect threatened flora and fauna from the impact of weeds and pests. It encourages volunteer groups to improve public land. For details, visit www.dse.vic.gov.au/bushguardians.
South East Water is currently developing a strategy for reducing the impacts of septic tanks across the Southern Mornington Peninsula. In this update, you can learn more about the project and how you can become involved. There are currently 18,000 properties relying on septic tanks across the Southern Mornington Peninsula. Due to the smaller lot sizes, sometimes treated wastewater from septic tank systems can’t be contained within the property boundary. 2ver time, this can ¿nd its way into the local groundwater system, which can result in environmental damage and risks to public health. Engaging with our community is important to us - we want to work closely with the local community to identify the most effective way of servicing the Southern Mornington Peninsula.
Point Nepean Park
To help us consider a range of perspectives during the project, we have established a stakeholder reference group. The group includes representatives from local resident groups, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, State Government, water authorities, as well as commercial and environmental representatives. The group meets regularly and provides ongoing feedback to our project team. 2nce a preferred strategy has been identi¿ed and approved, construction is expected to be carried out between 2015 and 2025.
Freeway
Over the coming months, you can learn about the project’s progress through community activities and on our website: southeastwater.com.au/community/ currentprojects. We will also publish project updates like this one on a regular basis in the Southern Peninsula News.
Ask Sandra South East Water’s Community Engagement Coordinator Sandra Glass welcomes an opportunity to meet with your community group and talk more about the project. To register your interest, please contact Sandra Glass, Community Engagement Coordinator on 9552 3572 or morningtonpeninsula@sewl.com.au
Contact Sandra Email: morningtonpeninsula@sewl.com.au
Phone: 9552 3572
Southern Peninsula News 28 June 2011
PAGE 7