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A NUMBER OF OUR COUNCILLORS ARE UNDER INVESTIGATION BY IBAC. TO RESTORE HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND TRUST, I WANT TO SEE THE COUNCIL BE MORE ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT AND CONSULTATIVE.
Authorised by: David Wright 2 Orr St., Strathmore 3041
I want to see the council follow the principles of good governance.
Good Governance is transparency, accountability and consultation.
Politicians have forgotten – you appoint them to be your manager – not your master.
No more hiding behind commercial and in confidence.
All council matters should be open to public scrutiny and comment.
Within the limits of the law I will be pushing to make everything openly available – and where the law imposes limits I will be fighting to have the law changed. The City of Moonee Valley is YOUR city. You have the right and are entitled to know everything affecting your city.
Accountability – an overused word and an underused concept. The State Government – Local Government Authority has produced a list of KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators). These indicators should focus the council on what it should be trying to achieve for the betterment of its residents.
Using these indicators I (and you) can monitor performance of the council and hold it accountable for that performance. Currently, performance against these KPI’s is reported annually. I will be pushing to have them reported quarterly.
The City of Moonee Valley is failing its Consultative KPI (key performance indicator). Put simply, the council is not consulting you sufficiently on core services (Family, Recreation, Community, Culture, Roads, Town Planning, Rubbish) or on initiatives outside its core services.
I will strengthen the consultation process.
For initiatives outside these core services council has no mandate from you. If there are proposals to change names, remove icons, support fringe groups, pass politically based resolutions and so forth, I will encourage the council to extensively consult with you, the residents/ratepayers before agreeing to or opposing any such proposals. This consultation could range from sampling a representative but small group through to a full distribution of voting documents (Direct Democracy).
Your opinion is what matters.
In the 2022-2023 Annual Report the council failed the consultation KPI. I would be looking to strengthen this consultation process.
Proposals outside of the council’s mandate should go through a very defined and rigorous process.
Example: Moreland Council recently changed its city name from Moreland to Merri-bec. There was nothing wrong with the proposal however the process totally lacked transparency and appropriate consultation with the community. The cost and inconvenience of the change was not clearly and accurately presented and only a small, biased survey was performed. I quite like the name Merri-bec. That is not my argument. My concern is that without due process the will of the majority of residents / rate payers may / may not have been followed.
The MVCC has signed up to the State Government’s 20- minute neighbourhood initiative. I have grave concerns about this initiative. Although on a cursory view the proposal sounds laudable, on closer inspection there are serious potential problems.
20 minute neighbourhoods are an urban planning concept where everything a resident needs can be accessed within a 20-minute journey (walking, riding bicycles, public transport). Sometimes they are referred to as 15 minute cities.
The following link provides an analysis of the pro’s and cons of the 20-minute neighbourhood.
My concerns are the emphasis placed on walking; bike riding and public transport and limiting the use of the automobile. The problems with this approach are:
Liveable Cities provide an amenable attractive environment, an abundance of public and green spaces; access to amenities; vibrance and culture; and convenient connection to other regions. They are build around the needs of the residents, not the ideology of the day.
Authorised by: David Wright 2 Orr St., Strathmore 3041