Latest report from Socialist Party Yarra Cllr Stephen Jolly

Comrades

The last week has been one of the most intense of recent times in the Yarra City Council area. It's not every week that the Mayor, myself, and Yarra Council are on the TV news, the Age, all the radio stations, and the local media over not one but two main stories. The heightened political interest was reflected in the Council meeting on Tuesday which went from 7pm to 11.37pm with up to 100 local people in attendence.



What are the issues?

1. The counter terrorist exercise in Collingwood.

Last week at dawn dozens of 'anti-terrorist' specialist forces from several agencies including the Victorian Police launched an unannounced exercise in suburban streets in Collingwood. Residents were awoken by helicopters, stun grenades, and machine gun fire. Many thought it was the Hoddle St massacre relived and didn't leave their homes for hours afterwards as they weren't sure if it was really over or not.

The security forces had planned this operation for six months yet hadn't organised a proper letter box drop to inform the residents. Worse still, they didn't announce to residents when it was finished.

Windows were blown out, asbestos dislodged in a old TAFE building, and residents traumatised.

Outrageously some Council officers were aware of the event and actually provided free traffic management to these over-resourced agencies without informing the Councillors or residents. We learnt through hearing the noise ourselves or from being telephoned and emailed by residents!

At the Council meeting two senior police and gave pathetic excuses and half-hearted apologies. Council resolved to seek an apology, compensation for damage, payment for the upcoming Council-organised councilling meeting for residents this Tuesday. We also put in place new processes so that the public and Councillors are fully involved in any request for such an operation in the future. As a Socialist Party Councillor I reject these raids in any event. The money would be better spent on the domestic violence terror that is a lot more real than Bin Laden in the City of Yarra.

This Wednesday, April 20th, at 7.30pm at the Union Club Hotel, 164 Gore St, Fitzroy the Northern Suburbs branch of the Socialist Party is hosting a public meeting on the raid with me the main speaker. Please come along to discuss this and what the lessons are for the future.



Collingwood Football Club

The bosses of this club have left Victoria Park in a mess and want to walk away from their lease with Council. Rank and file Collingwood supporters are horrified that the likes of Eddie Maguire could put profit before the beloved home of this great club (I barrack for Carlton, but what do you do!).

Council voted to endorse a community-supported Master Plan for Victoria Park which opens it up to the public and local sporting clubs, keeps the historic stands, and has plans for the social club. This answers the lies of Collingwood bosses who say 'why clean up our mess if Yarra Council are going to bulldoze the site?'

It may take action from Collingwood supporters and the Council to get this over the line, ie get Collingwood bosses to come to the party. I will be raising with my party and with locals the possiblity of leafleting upcoming Collingwood matches and a public meeting on the issue.



Banco/Council's alternative plan for Smith St

Yesterday I chaired the first meeting of the Steering Committee tasked with coming up with an alternative plan for Smith St's future development for Council to vote on in July. It was agreed to take on Paul Mees as one of a number of experts to assist the Committee. This will help a lot.

The Steering Committee's next meeting will get down to the main game of discussing height limits, set-backs, low cost housing, heritage etc that we want in this part of Yarra. What we agree will be put to the State Minister for Planning for approval and will provide a template for the upcoming similar plans for elsewhere in Yarra.

I am confident that as long as community groups like the Collingwood Action Group and ward Councillors stay in control of the process we will get a result. The alternative is picket lines on Smith St.

The other issue concerns Banco going to VCAT (the unelected, undemocratic, pro-development state planning appeals tribunal that the ALP refuse to abolish) to get them to overturn Council's refusal to support their rotten plans for Smith St. We must work rapidly to ensure Council's legal case at VCAT is as strong as possible and, more importantly, we must keep the pressure on the local State MP and the Minister to 'call in' the application (take it out of the hands of VCAT and put on the Minister's table) and then sit on it while the Steering Committee finish their job.



Liquor Licensing

For years local and community activists like Ian Quick have campaigned against Council's weak liquor licensing laws that are so loose we now have up to 5am trading by one club in Brunswick St. It's becoming a get drunk and pick-up or vomit place rather than the live music/cosmopolitan/grungy place it was. The rot has to stop. Council made a small step forward on Tuesday with the establishment of a committee to come back with recommendations as to how local law can be improved. Unlike past committees which were toothless, this one has the political will of a majority of Councillors and the residents and will achieve results I believe.

An issue UNiTE (the casual workers' campaign) will be raising in the upcoming period is the restriction of liquor licences to outlets that have dodgy health and safety and industrial relations policy. Watch this space.



Tram Stops

Trams are being slowed down by the ever increasing car usage in Melbourne. We need policies to move people from car use to public transport and bicycles or even motorbikes/scooters. The car lobby has many supporters in the major parties and on Council (especially the engineering departments) and they have stopped even minimal reform like changing traffic lights from 90s to 60s turn around.

Privately owned Yarra Trams are finding it harder to get their subsides from the State Government as trams are slower than ever. So their solution is to rip out stops to speed up trams!! Council have been asked to allow them to take out two stop on Victoria Parade. We must have an overall plan for transport and not give into the short-sighted profit-driven demands from Yarra Trams.

On Tuesday I showed a dodgy map given to me by Council's Planning Department that conviently left out one of the tram stops to go! This is either due to incompentancy or too close a relationship between Yarra Trams and Council officers. Either way it must end.



Workers' rights

Council passed a resolution from to get the CEO to report back to the next Council meeting as to how many of the subbies and contractors used by Council have EBAs with the relevant union and stick to OHS and IR law. Council currently pays for a non-union subbie to paint the Richmond Town Hall (including on Easter Sunday!). The ALP Councillors are happy for their party to accept $1 million a year from the construction union, the CFMEU, but less happy to stick to union conditions and the work calender agreed by the union and the vast majority of employers.



Youth March for Real Jobs and Justice

Council vote to support the UNiTE-organised march on June 24th. It is vital that young people organise against the attacks by the Howard Government. The action on this last day of school term will lead into the union rally on June 30th.



Cheese Grator

Two years ago, under massive community pressure, Council knocked back an ugly development in Fitzroy nicknamed the Cheese Grator. The developers went to VCAT and overturned this decision. However two years on they haven't been able to sell enough units to justify beginning to build. They had to go back to Council officers in the last few weeks for a two year extension. Outrageously, (I discovered and made public on Tuesday), Council officers OK'd this extension without discussing it with the residents or Councillors. I have told by way of excuse that as the builders demolished something on the site last year, that is considered starting construction and that therefore triggers four years extension of the approval. If this is true our laws stink and must be changed. Even so we should have been told. What is going on in our Planning Department?



Budget

Councillors are about to start their discussions and debate on this years budget. We in the SP expect to be well and truely rolled on this issues by the neo-liberal majority. We will put in a good fight but are also preparing an alternative budget that puts ordinary people's needs first and thereby mobilises people to put maximum pressure on State and Federal Government to reverse their cuts to Council. Watch this space for more news on what is the most important debate we will have on Council this year.





Please come down any Saturday from 12 noon to the SP Council stall outside Safeways in Smith St, Collingwood if you want to catch up with me or SP on any local or broader issue. This week we are campaigning on Child Care.