News
Page 12 The Moorabool News â 20 April, 2021
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Letters to the Editor
News
The Moorabool News â 13 April, 2021 Page 3
Flag not to fly, this year at least By Helen Tatchell There is no pot of gold for those that wanted the rainbow flag to fly high around Moorabool. Councillors voted against the Flag Flying Policy recommendation at last weekâs Ordinary Meeting of Council. CEO Derek Madden authored the new policy as Council did not have a Flag Flying Policy in place previously and the purpose was to outline the proper use of flags, provide guidance to Shire employees who manage the flying of flags at Council offices and, proved a framework for considering requests to fly flags at times outside Councilâs Annual Flag Schedule. Cr Tonia Dudzik moved the recommendation and was initially supported by fellow Crs Edwards and Ward however, Cr Ally Munari objected which created a debate. Cr Munari said this is not just about the Rainbow flag, it is about the policy. âAs a Councillor, every decision I make in this room is delicately thought out and all Moorabool residents considered. After sitting through many meetings in my short time in Council, I have witnessed the governance procedures that go hand in hand with Council policies. One aspect of these procedures is community consultation, which has not been proposed in the policyâ. Cr Munari went on to say she has listened and absorbed the voices of Moorabool residents. âI strongly feel that we are denying them an input into this discussion. They deserve the respect and courtesy of their voice being heard and the Moorabool communityâs voice must hold precedence,â she said. âI am not convinced this is the right recommendation for this policy.â Cr Sullivan sought leave to speak as Chair of the meeting and was also against the recommendation. âWe do need a flag policy as we do not have one, but this is not the way to go about it,â he said. âWe need to follow the proper process of implementation of council policies, it is tried and tested. âWe have copious documents which refer to community engagement and consultation, yet on this matter if the recommendation where to adopted, it would deny 35,000 residents of Moorabool Shire to have the opportunity to have their say,â he said. Cr Sullivan encouraged Councillors to not support the recommendation as, âwe must follow good process not convenienceâ.
âThis recommendation does not follow good process and we deny 35,000 Moorabool residents to not have a voice in this matter.â A Notice of Motion was put forward by Cr Dudzik at the 3 February meeting to fly the rainbow flag on days of importance, and last week said, in support of the recommendation on the night, âthis Council report is an attempt to resolve the issues in a manner to make as many people as possible happyâ. âBy approving today, it means Council would be able to fly the flag on IDAHOBIT Day (May 17) this year. If deferred, we would not be able to fly the flag this year. âThe policy is consistent with other Councils. I do believe the policy meets my intent of my original request,â she said. Sean Mulcahy was a speaker to the item, he represented the Victorian Pride Lobby as a policy advisor, and said their view was the rainbow flag should be flown annually at the Council offices in Ballan and Darley. âA simple gesture like flying the rainbow flag would say that Moorabool Council supports equality and inclusivity to its residents that are LGBTIQA+, and will proudly stand by them,â he said. Mr Mulcahy said he did not live in the Moorabool Shire when questioned by Cr Munari. The motion was lost after the debate and a vote indicated only Cr Dudzik FOR the motion, and AGAINST were Crs Munari, Ward, Edwards, and Sullivan. Crs. Berry and Tatchell were apologies at the meeting and did not vote.
MP disappointed âFlying the flag is more than symbolic; it is a clear message that we hear everyoneâs voices and that our region welcomes diversity. âI am disappointed that we wonât see the rainbow flag flying above Moorabool Shire Council offices on 17 May. âI thank Cr Tonia Dudzik for moving the motion at Council last night and invite everyone to mark IDAHOBIT Day by flying the rainbow flag at their home, work or business - celebrating the contribution that the LGBTQI community makes to our region. âIâm promoting the Facebook event âA Rainbow Over Mooraboolâ, a grassroots campaign created by residents to fly the rainbow flag across the shire on May 17. âLetâs make some good out of last nightâs outcome.â
The policy as proposed at the Council Meeting on Wednesday 7 April, was presented as an operational policy for Council to note. Under Councilâs recently adopted Community Engagement Policy, operational policies are not subject to community consultation. The difference between the two types of policies is that operational policies do not require Council adoption as they are approved by the CEO and Council policies are adopted by Council. Council policies are subject to consultation requirements contained in the Community Engagement Policy. NORMAL MANNER OF POLICY ADOPTION - Council adopts a draft policy - It then goes out on Public Exhibition - Consultation for 4-6 weeks (approx.) - Matter then comes back to Council for final determination - Report would include comments/feedback from community - Councillors vote on report â make decision.
Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle.
Flag not to fly, not this year (M/News 13 April 2021)
Itâs never you, until it is.
Crapping on over a flag, how about fix roads, clean up areas, put a Bunnings in, flag is on the bottom of the to do list... - Danny Kodra Kodric This is the MP that refused to be interviewed by VICPOL over her alleged involvement in the Labor Red Shirts scandal. Like her predecessor Geoff Howard, all she seems good for is turning up at photo opportunities. - Bruce Kendall What a load of divisive political propaganda. We already have an all-inclusive flag that represents Australians from allother walks of life; itâschange calledthat. the Australian National Flag. More people die on farms than in workplaces â letâs You might think bulletproof and know your like the back of your hand. The backstory ofyouâre the âRainbow Flagâ wasland a simple one of communication for private business But accidents can happen to anyone. wishing to advertise they were âgay friendlyâ establishments from an era where it was useful You can prevent accidents. You can prevent deaths. to know and held some relevance. Any business can display a symbol like this at no cost to worksafe.vic.gov.au/agriculture the community if they wish to do so. There is no need for the council and ratepayers to get involved. And before anyone starts harping on at me with any virtue signalling lectures or accusations of homophobia; Iâm gay. Thanks, but no thanks, I donât need Councilâs approval or anyone elseâs for that matter. - Sean McAlpine Jones Try focusing on working for the Shire and its constituents rather than being politically correct pollies. A flag should be the least of your concerns. - Sue De Tert The Victorian economy is trashed, 100s died needlessly and thousands lost jobs and the Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle, is worried because a flag is not going to be flown at Council Chambers. - Michael Dunk This she jumps on, but our concerns regarding toxic soil are described by her personally as âirrelevantâ and âsniping from the sidelinesâ. Left wing Labor priorities. - Tony Ambrogio
CORRECTION
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Arbee turns back time â M/News 13 April One photo caption depicted Barbara Aitkin as having a brother who worked for Bob Butler. Bob Butler was in fact the brother of Barbara Aitkin.
W R I T ING LET T ER S TO T H E EDI TOR Each letter must be accompanied with the writerâs full name, address and phone number (name and suburb for publication only) and be limited to 300 words. Letters to be received via post or email (preferred option). The Editor has the right to limit the amount of words in each letter received and published letters are at the discretion of the Editor. Send your letters to news@themooraboolnews.com.au Dear Editor, Mayor Tom Sullivan seems somewhat put out that he was not selected for the Local Government Mayoral Advisory Panel. According to the Moorabool News article last week (M/News 13 April) expressions of interest were sought from all 79 councils before the final panel of 15 mayors was selected. Perhaps Moorabool council did not put forward a strong enough case to warrant selection? The composition of the panel is aimed at representing a mix of metropolitan, interface, regional, small and large councils. I believe it has succeeded in this. Not every council in Victoria can expect to be represented on this panel no matter how deserving they believe they are. Incidentally only seven of the 15 panel members come from Melbourne councils. Given that Melbourne and its suburbs make up 80 per cent of Victoriaâs population I would suggest that Melbourne is clearly underrepresented here based on population numbers. Funny that Mayor Sullivan sees an inner ring of Melbourne councils. I see a (slightly) larger ring of non-Melbourne councils. Jon Bagley Maddingley Dear Editor, Mr Ross Redwinâs self-appointed role as a messenger of truth for everything related to the Western Victorian Transmission Network Project seems, on face value, to be a noble attempt at negating the alleged mistruths in the campaign opposing the project. However, his demonstrated lack of research simply highlights his ignorance of the facts and fuels the fire of misinformation, which benefits no-one. His principle claim, that âhigh voltage transmission lines have never caused firesâ, is negated in AusNetâs AMS 10-77 Transmission Line Structures, 2023-27 Transmission Revenue Reset, dated 16/07/2020 which states, âIn 1981, a ground fire ignited following a structure collapse on the Murray switching station to Dederang 330 kV No.2 line caused by extreme winds during a storm event. The fire was relatively smaller in size and was extinguished by rainfall during the storm eventâ. Fortunately, recent similar damage at Cressy did not result in fire ignition, however in a dry summer and a fire prone area, the damage can be catastrophic. Had Mr Redwin even conducted the most basic research, he would have realised that High Voltage Transmission Lines caused the catastrophic Camp Fires in California in 2018, destroying the town of Paradise, killing 85 people, causing $30B in damage and leading Pacific Gas and Energy to file for bankruptcy protection. On June 16, 2020, PG&E plead guilty to 84 counts of
involuntary manslaughter over their liability in mismanaging the Transmission Lines which caused the fire. Everything that Mr Redwin has raised so far as being a âmistruthâ by others, can be credibly and scientifically substantiated with referenced, industry peer reviewed literature, all of which is available should Mr Redwin choose to accept the offer made to him to attend the community forums and simply review the material himself. Instead, the âmessenger of truthâ offers his personal opinions, in ignorance of facts openly available to anyone wishing to do the research before offering their opinion. Name and Address Supplied. Dear Editor, I fail to understand Mayor Tom Sullivanâs gripe about the makeup of the new mayoral advisory panel (MNews April 13). He says that âthere is not a lot of representation from growth councils like Mooraboolâ and âsees an inner ring of Melbourne councilsâ. Perhaps he should get his eyesight checked. According to the list published in the Moorabool News only seven Melbourne councils are on the panel of 15 members. The other eight are from regional or country areas and towns, including many âgrowthâ councils. I certainly do not see the membership of this mayoral panel as being tilted in favour of Melbourne interests. I would suggest that if Mayor Sullivan wants Moorabool to be better represented then perhaps, he should strive even harder to promote the interests of our neglected shire. Do something about it instead of making sour comments. Norm Reynolds Bacchus Marsh Dear Editor, Being interstate at present I have only received a copy of the Moorabool News (13 April) and noticed the Ballan Bowling Clubs tribute to Bart Ribbink on his passing. I have noticed there has been no recognition of Bartâs contribution to the Ballan community in the Moorabool News and I would like to acknowledge Bartâs efforts. Bart loved Ballan and was extremely proud when he was elected to represent the residents of the Central Riding. He was tenacious on all issues regarding Ballan and strong advocate for aggrieved residents. He approached debate in council with a pragmatic and humorous manner. His family can be proud of his record as a Councillor and as President of the Ballan Shire and his service to the community. Tony Lynch Gordon
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