|
Friday, 15 January 2010 |
 Long-suffering Brimbank residents were gobsmacked to learn that those responsible for the Brimbank Council corruption scandal would go unpunished. A Local Government Inspectorate, quickly set up in 2009 to manage fallout from the Ombudsman's investigation into this rogue Council, has shown itself to be little more than a convenient tool of the state's political hierarchy.
SunRRA has said all along that the finding was never really in doubt. We predicted months ago in two front page stories that the worst of the offenders would be rewarded, rather than punished for their misdeeds. (See the articles Ombudsman cuts no ice and Ombudsman shown contempt, below). Once again we are proven right.
Claims by the Local Government Inspectorate that there was "insufficient evidence" of wrongdoing fly in the face of the public record. They are made even more ridiculous by a startling admission that it's chief inspector had not communicated with the Ombudsman during the investigation. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Monday, 14 December 2009 |
 Sunshine residents live in a tolerant and inclusive community. This is evidenced by the peaceful and harmonious way the community has and continues to integrate in our community the many waves of people migrating and resettling in the area over the decades.
These new arrivals have been coming in large numbers to Sunshine because of its affordable public and private housing which sat alongside jobs in the manufacturing and in new industry sectors. Many people have aspired to a better life for their families in more affluent suburbs and have moved on as their circumstances changed.
Sunshine residents have also lived with and supported the most disadvantaged of people and the most vulnerable of families for decades. And in big numbers. The community and its clubs, interest groups, churches and social networks have actively supported people and families living in public housing complexes and in low cost private rental housing as a matter of course. Sunshine has been and remains one of Melbourne’s social housing meccas despite official statistics claiming otherwise. Social housing in appropriate public and private models that is well supported with additional services is highly valued. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Saturday, 17 October 2009 |
 To the Administrators
We want you to know that the people of the west including Brimbank are fed up with entrenched neglect from our elected representatives and we aren’t going to take it anymore.
But SunRRA members are also saying we want to work with you to start the long term repair job now needed after decades of political neglect. As you know Brimbank residents have been caught in the middle of warring between two sides of the same ALP faction, both of whom wanted control of the Council. Both sides have succeeded in getting their wish.
The outcome has been political patronage for a few and neglect for the majority. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Saturday, 12 September 2009 |
 Among the increasingly bold and shadowy moves seen at Brimbank Council in the wake of the Ombudsman's report, CEO Nick Foa has decided he wants to build a new, 45-million dollar civic precinct at ratepayers' expense. So he engaged a communications firm to inform the community and provide a forum for debate and discussion.
Putting the cart as ever before the horse, the two main questions he asked were: Where should a new civic precinct be located and, what should it look like?
It was the start of another public relations disaster for Brimbank Council, with accusations of misleading information and cover up aired in the local press.
Four forums were held in St Albans, Cairnlea, Keilor and Sunshine, with over 200 people attending: 80 or so at St Albans, 25 at Cairnlea, 42 at Keilor and about 56 at Sunshine. The resident group was bolstered by a core group of people who turned up at all four occasions. That was part of the learning exercise for council, to understand that there is such a significant level of interest in this project and not to underestimate those views. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Sunday, 16 August 2009 |
.jpg) In February 2008 SunRRA predicted Brimbank was on target to take the crown as the biggest loser and largest contributor of pokie gambling revenue. At that time interim reporting of gambling losses for the first six months of that financial year indicated Brimbank was sitting at number two with half yearly losses of $65 million, after the city of Monash with losses of $66 million.
SunRRA's front page story in February 2008 titled Brimbank second on Pokies Biggest Losers List outlined the sorry saga of Brimbank Council’s flawed Gambling Policy.
In a letter to Brimbank's CEO Mr. Nick Foa in 2008, SunRRA begged the Council to reinstate the Borderlands Gambling Review and Consultation for the Brimbank Council Gambling Policy which had been nobbled by the former CEO midway through the process in 2005. Borderlands' recommendations were ignored while the Council created its own Gambling Directions Paper, arrived at through a flawed and possibly corrupt process. Councillors were not given a copy of the Borderlands recommendations at that time. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next > End >>
|
| Results 1 - 15 of 71 |
A failure of the local law
RSL Master Plan