YARRA’S BUDGET 2005/06

A Socialist Party Contribution to the Debate Around the Budget



The Socialist Party joins Yarra residents in calling on Council to

develop a budget for the people— not a right-wing budget that spends

more on roads and consultants than on community services.



Yarra Council should be actively seeking to develop a democratic budget

that reflects the needs of ordinary people in Yarra. This means

encouraging real participation by residents, community groups and small

businesses in the development of their budget. The Yarra Council 2005/6

Draft Budget has instead been developed by council in a process that is

largely inaccessible to the people it will affect.



This leaflet outlines some ways the Socialist Party believes the budget

should be changed so it represents the real needs of the community. It

is a starting point for community debate around the Yarra Council Budget

both this year and into the future. We want to encourage all residents

and community groups in Yarra to participate in the development of their

budget. Only in this way can we have a true People’s Budget that

reflects the needs of the majority in Yarra.



The Council’s 2005/6 Draft Budget calls for:

• A 5.9% increase in rate revenue.

• $5.5 million for roads, but only $200,000 to improve family services

including childcare.

• $2.2 million on advertising, publicity and for consultants – which is

enough money to make meals on wheels free and still have

$1.7 million left over.

Yarra Council is about to present its draft budget for 2005/06. You, as

a local resident, will have only a month to have your say before

Councillors vote on it on July 12th.



A do-nothing Budget

We have great needs in Yarra, especially in childcare and on the three

massive public housing estates. Therefore you would expect big

initiatives in this budget, but there are none. Even small businesses

are not serviced properly with still no access to recycling, despite the

pro-environment claims of Yarra Council.

The small improvements in the number of child care places and on

resources to young people in need are to be welcomed – but we can do so

much more.



What Council’s Draft Budget says and what it doesn’t say

The budget proudly boasts of its good parts (many of which came from

community and Socialist Party pressure on and outside of Council) – but

there is much it doesn’t report on – for example Yarra’s vital Financial

and Crisis Counselling service is to receive only $31,000 this year

compared to $83,805 two years ago!



Where does Council get its $94 million from?

Ratepayers are being asked to fork out an extra 4.9% in rates, with 5.9%

extra to be generated in new rate revenue this year. It is ironic that

the Socialist Party is the only party opposed to the screwing of

ratepayer’s year in, year out for little in return by way of new

initiatives by Council. It seems it is easier to raise money from

ratepayers than take on the State and Federal government over cuts in

grants to Council.

Fees and fines are to go up in most cases by about 3%, although after

school care fees go up 9% per child per session.

Government grants (from State and Federal government) have been cut by

2.7% this year (page 11). This long-term cutting of Council money must

be challenged. However a Labor-led Council will not take on a State

Labor government, especially with a State election next year.



What are they spending our money on?

$60 million is for operating costs. $45 million of this is on wages but

the budget papers do not make clear how much is on the mini-army of team

leaders, coordinators and directors at Yarra, a Council that is top

heavy with management. The community wants workers on the front line –

for example there is no money for a second footpath trading officer,

leaving only the one current officer to police over 1000 businesses.

$19 million is for capital works. Many of these projects are good but in

some cases the priorities are wrong, with $5.5 million for roads, yet

only $200,000 to improve infrastructure at child care centers.

$2.7 million is for debt repayment to the banks. This is being proposed

even though Yarra hasn’t got “relatively high borrowing levels for a

Victorian metropolitan local authority”, as the budget claims. In fact

the State government recommends that total debt for a Council must be

60% of rate revenue or less – for Yarra this year it is only 29%.

While there is nothing wrong with Council reducing their debt, they have

chosen to prioritize this over providing funding for essential services

like child care, aged services and libraries.

This is just one example of how this Draft Budget puts money before people.



What could be done instead?

1. A less top heavy management structure and less spent on consultants

would free up money for more socially-useful operating costs such as job

creation for unemployed youth and lower fees for Council services.

2. A readjustment of the capital works away from roads and expensive

projects like the nearly $1 million on information systems would add

millions for use for three big projects that the Socialist Party stands

for: A new child care center, a new North Fitzroy library, and a new

indoor sports facility for Yarra. These three projects would be both a

social and economic asset to Yarra.

3. A three year debt freeze would still leave Yarra ahead of State

government guidelines and would allow about $10 million to be spent on

progressive capital works projects such as the three the Socialist Party

stands for. This is partially admitted on page 31 of the budget. Even a

slow down in debt repayment could deliver $5 million.



What are the best parts of Council’s Draft Budget?

Partially thanks to the recommendations of the Youth Advisory Committee,

which was pushed for and chaired by SP Councillor Stephen Jolly there is

new resources for holiday activities for young people in public housing;

extra vacation care places; increased occasional child care, and more.

The $100,000 for a childcare review is to be welcomed and was agreed to

as a direct result of the growing community pressure on Council to act

on the crisis. The test will come when the area of greatest need for

childcare is identified: will Council then create a new childcare center

or not?



Principles behind the Council’s Draft Budget

This budget “has been prepared on the basis of constraint” (page 9) and

its Budget Principles (page 6) include nothing about community need.

Council, despite calling itself left-wing, has prepared a right-wing

(neo-liberal) budget. Since the end of the post-war economic boom in the

early 1970s almost all western governments have begun the process of

winding back conditions won in the past. This ‘neo-liberal’ agenda has

been carried though by governments on all levels through privatization,

user pays, and cuts to services.

The fact is that though they are possibly slightly better on service

delivery; Yarra Council is fundamentally no different from other Councils.

A Socialist-led Council would shift priorities towards ordinary people

in Yarra as well as mobilising to fight the cost-shifting by government.



For more information about the Socialist Party or to find out more about


or write to SP, PO Box 1015,

Collingwood 3066. You can also visit our council website at:

socialistpartyaustralia.org/council



Socialist Party City branch meets every Tuesday at 7pm at Trades Hall,

cnr Lygon + Victoria Sts, Carlton South

Socialist Party Northern branch meets every Thursday at 7.30pm at radio

station 3CR, 21 Smith St, Fitzroy

Comrades

Last night 150 children, parents and carers gatecrashed the Yarra Council meeting at Richmond Town Hall to insist Council put the child care crisis in their Top 3 list of priorities. Channel 9 + 7 TV crews were there as well as the Herald Sun and both the local papers. It was an electric atmosphere as organiser Liz Conor gave a taste of what families are going through thanks to the child care crisis. The Greens and Socialist Party united to move an amendment to the Council's Municipal Early Years Plan, which was (prior to its amendment) a lion that roared like a mouse. Instead of being satisfied with the 42 extra places it plans for this year, the amendment will lead to Council searching immediately for new sites for new child care centers. The budget (thanks to SP pressure) includes $100,000 for a child care review to scientifical indentify the main area for the crisis in Yarra. However Liz explained that over 2000 families are on waiting lists in Yarra - information gathered by the campaign group itself.

Other issues last night included the walls around Victoria Park. Residents in Abbotsford insist they should come down and are nervous about any backtracking or stonewalling by Council, as well as poor communication from the Town Hall. This Thursday night a public meeting will be held to thrash out what we are going to do, and equally importantly when we are to do it.

The VCAT hearing on Friday over the Banco development on Smith St was discussed. I lost a vote 8-1 to get Council lawyers to oppose Banco being allowed to substitute plans at the hearing. My position reflects the views of the Collingwood Action Group and many residents. We undermine our demand for the Planning Minister Rob Hulls to 'call in' the application if we are seen to agree to Banco's outrageous tactics at VCAT. However, not for the last time, Council will be bypassed by the community when it takes the rightwing line. CAG have their own lawyer on Friday and will do the job themselves. A socialist Council would mean that community groups and residents could rely on Council to support them in struggle.

The 2005/06 budget was tabled last night for one month of public consultation. The Mayor said it was the most important decision we would make, and she is correct. It is wrong that Master Plans, MSS etc have loads of community consultation (then often ignored!) yet the budget has nowhere near the same level of effort from Council to involve the community. SP distributed its contribution on the budget debate last night (see new notice), and we will be letterboxing it far and wide. Please contact us if you can help with photocopying or letterboxing!! The vote and debate will be at next months Council meeting.

The new Code of Conduct was debated and I opposed an attempt to insert a new clause to stiffle Councillors giving their honest views to the media. It has been water-down in an amendment.

On footpath trading, it is clear that senior management have an agenda to stiffle any move to getting a second footpath trading officer for Yarra. One officer therefore covers over 1000 businesses. One Councillor openly argued for 'self regulation' - I thought that went out with the fairies and Jeff Kennett. Next month I will move a motion for a second footpath trading officer.

It is becoming increasingly clear that after a few months of shifting alliances after the November 2004 Council election, that now we are settling down to a reality of an ALP-run Council with the Socialist Party as its most consistant opponent. The Greens sway between these two parties, and often amongst themselves.

My job as the sole Socialist Party Councillor is to reflect the views of the community, offer an alternative and help residents and community groups mobilise, as we did last night. Residents in Yarra need to seriously ponder the reality of what is going on around them. At the next Council election we must get a left majority.

The Council at the moment is like a newspaper, with the senior management writing the articles and operating the printing presses, and (at best) Councillors having a role as sub-editors to articles written by someone else. The community deserve better.

Comrades

This Tuesday (14th June at 7.30pm Richmond Town Hall, Bridge Rd, Richmond) is the most important Yarra City Council meeting all year.

Residents will attend in numbers to:

Look at what the 2005/06 Budget has to say about the issues that concern them and what the rate, fee and fine increases are to be. Is there an alternative to the right-wing budgets of the Council majority? Read the SP literature on this available on the night and soon in your letterbox.

The child care crisis. Children and parents and carers and child care supporters will attend to force this crisis onto the Council's agenda. We need action not talk and surveys and sub-committees.

Banco in Smith St. What will be Council's tactics at next Fridays VCAT hearing? How can be best get the Minister to call-in this over-development?

Victoria Park. What is going on? Are the walls coming down or not - let the community know the truth.

Footpath trading. When are we to get our second footpath trading officer. Residents are fed up with excuses, robbing peter to pay paul tactics of senior management, and cost-cutting measures instead of providing resources to this key area.

New Code of Conduct for Councillors. Let's debate this latest attempt to stiffle dissent on Council.

* Many other issues - in fact there are three separate volumes of documentation for the night!

Let's continue to build participatory democracy on Yarra City Council! Come along and have your say. Don't leave these important decisions to the bureaucrats and Councillors alone.

Hope to see you there,

Stephen Jolly,

Socialist Party Councillor for Langridge Ward, Yarra City Council

There are two good articles in today's Yarra Leader.

Page 3 on the TAB about to be opened on the corner of Smith and Stanley Streets.

Page 1 + 3 on the Victoria Park walls saga

The militant Electrial Trades Union today donated 2000 stamps to the Kids in Kouncil campaign to help them build for their action at the upcoming Yarra Council meeting on Tuesday 14th June. Once again the organised working class come to the aid of genuine community campaigns. It would be great to see other groups like the Green Party helping out too....

The SP (City branch) has called a public meeting on the Shapelle Corby affair for this Tuesday, May 31st, 7pm, Trades Hall, cnr Lygon + Victoria Sts, Carlton South. I will be the speaker.

Comrades

It is vital you come to the next Council meeting.

1. The child care action, see previous email. There will be a large media presence, not just from the two local papers. Already there are a huge number of children and parents/carers who have rsvp'ed for the night.

2. Other community groups are attending with their issues with Council, including those Abbotsford residents concerned about the future of Victoria Park.

3. The proposed official 2005/06 budget will be presented. Residents are then given until the next Council meeting in July to discuss and debate the budget. If it is anything like previous budgets, you can be guaranteed that there will be the mother of all debates on the budget.

Don't miss this meeting.

The Socialist Party is fully supporting the upcoming massive child care protest at Yarra City Council, for Tuesday 14th June. We support Council action to fix the problem instead of the fake, hollow warm and fuzzy noises we get from the right-wing Greens and the neo-liberal line from the ALP.

Read this leaflet from the campaign:

Who Cares about Child Care?

Kids in Kouncil Childcare Campaign

In the City of Yarra there is a childcare crisis

On June 14th the newly formed Kids in Kouncil Childcare Campaign will arrive at the Yarra City Council meeting at 7.10pm

Simply, we will ask our council to care about childcare and provide access to childcare places for all residents in Yarra.

We need you

Mums, Dads, babies, kids, grandparents and about-to-be-parents to attend the...

Kids in Kouncil childcare campaign

7.10pm start time

for only 30 minutes

Richmond Town Hall

333 Bridge Rd, Richmond

Tuesday 14 June 2005

Kids should be instructed that the usual restrictions on bad behaviour will not apply. Our kids voices need to be heard. This action will take only half an hour of our time.

It is an easy, quick and extremely effective way to ask our Council to care about childcare and provide new places. Circulate this notice through any e-lists and tell all your friends. Your presence will make a difference. Bring your kids and their voice.

If you care about childcare, join other concerned parents in the City of Yarra.

Show you care about childcare

‘Inner city revolt’, by Ellen Whinnett,

Herald Sun, 25 May 05



A COUNCILLOR wants the State Government to intervene in a planning dispute in Collingwood.



Stephen Jolly says the community will protest at developer Banco's plans to build a large flat and office complex in Smith St.



Cr Jolly said new plans Banco tendered to Yarra Council last week failed to ease community concerns.



"The first plans were totally outrageous; these plans are only outrageous," he said.



The dispute has been raging for two years.



Banco has appealed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal against the council's decision to knock back the original planning permit application.



Banco has lodged amended plans, but Cr Jolly says the proposal for 157 flats, more office space and a supermarket was inappropriate.



"It will spew out extra cars and people into Collingwood without giving anything back to the community -- no childcare centre, no library," Cr Jolly said.



He called on Planning Minister Rob Hulls to intervene, saying he could bring both parties to the negotiating table.



"There will be development on this site," Cr Jolly said. "We are not a bunch of crazed anti-development councillors."



"Banco can either go to VCAT and bully this development in over the community's heads or they can negotiate it.



"If they don't negotiate, there will be picket lines in Smith St, there will be resistance."



Banco director Mario Lo Giudice said the new plans reflected the company's consultation with the community and the council last September.



He said it was inappropriate to discuss the issue because it was before the tribunal.



More than 1500 people objected to the original Banco application, saying it was out of step with the area.



A spokeswoman for Mr Hulls, Melissa Arch, said the minister had met councillors, including Cr Jolly, and it was agreed the council would develop an interim structure plan for the area.



She said the structure plan was the basis for any decisions on the site.



Herald and Weekly Times

Dear Comrades and Supporters,

I am finding it increasingly impossible to properly take up all the important concerns of residents: Victoria Park, Banco, child care, Noone St laneway, footpath trading, liquor licences, workers' rights etc.

Really - to do the job of Councillor properly - it should be fulltime. I believe Councillors who do the job properly actually have more power and responsibilities that State MPs, at least backbenchers.

The Socialist Party is currently raising the money to employ a fulltime organiser based in Melbourne, with much of their responsibilities being to support my role as Councillor. This will make my role as SP Councillor much more productivity and effective.

We still need to raise $4000 to get to our target to take on the organiser, Anthony Main, (who is currently a shop steward in the metal industry).

I am appealing to you directly, as a subscriber to this email list, to consider either a donation to this $4000 appeal or a regular donation to support the wages.


Yours in anticipation,

Stephen Jolly

Comrades

Anyone interested in how we would run the Council when we get a majority, should read "Liverpool: A city that dared to fight". It is the story, written by two central figures, of the Militant (now SP)-led Liverpool City Council, the fifth biggest in the UK, during the 1980s. (Then we were a group fighting for socialism inside the Labour Parties and Social Democratic parties of the world (including the ALP here), by the 1990s with the exodus of workers and youth from these parties and as their leaders dragged them to the right, we began independent work as standalone parties).

In the years we ran Liverpool Council, we built more homes than all the other Labour Councils added up together - plus leisure centers and the creation of over 500 jobs.

Only after Thatcher defeated the miners in 1985 was she able to defeat Liverpool, with the crucial help of the rightwing Labour and union leaders, who were embarrassed about the popularity of our ideas and actions. There is a pale echo of that today in the unholy alliance of ASU leaders, ALP and rightwing Green Councillors, and Council management, all competing as to who hates SP the most.

Get a deeper understanding of why SP is coming from in its Council work by reading this book.

Click here

Comrades,

Last Tuesday's Council meeting saw up to 100 local residents attend in another example of the growing grassroots democracy coming back to Richmond Town Hall after years of Kennettism and the aftereffects of Kennettism.

A small taste of the bigger mobilisation to come in the June meeting came with 4 children and four adults attending on the child care crisis, especially for 0-3 year olds. They asked questions during public question time about Yarra's response to this crisis, using the Port Philip Council's recent serious cash injection (under community pressure) as a model to follow.

Next month many more children and parents and carers will attend to keep up the pressure to spend on child care in this years budget.

Other residents attended on the issue of Victoria Park issue, concerned with the changes to the Master Plan that mean that only some of the perimeter wall will come down. They were also angry at the consultation around the issue, as many locals were not told about the changes. A motion was passed to support the revised Master Plan, with the exeption of the Ryder Stand which would require more community consultation. One resident questioned the secret negotiations between Collingwood Football Club management and our CEO and Mayor. Like me, they feel, the public pressure on Collingwood is what will ultimately lead to them coming up with a decent offer.

Council voted to keep Fitzroy Pool open all year, a great victory for local activism. The three main blows reigned on Yarra by the Kennett (closure of Fitzroy High, Richmond Secondary College and Fitzroy Pool) were all ultimately defeated - what a great example of the strength of community mobilisation in our area!

I lost a vote 7-2 (with Green Cllr Kathleen Maltzahn voting with me) over Friday's VCAT hearing on Banco. I wanted Council to instruct our lawyers to argue against Banco being allowed to submit alternative plans. The decision under review on Friday was Council's decision to reject Banco's original plans. If they come up with new plans, they in effect have agreed that we were right to block their original plans and ipso facto there is no case to review! Unfortunately the ALP and rightwing Green Councillors saw it differently.

This weeks Melbourne Times had three great letters from CAG, Paul Mees, and a group of Greeves St, Fitzroy residents support my position in the recent controversy over the Cheese Grater and Planning Department. I am told the Mayor and possibly the Planning Dept management are planning on replying to these letters in next weeks paper. This is great to see, open debate and discussion around serious issues. This is what the public want, I believe.

The budget is being discussed amongst Councillors as we speak. Soon a draft will be out for public consideration and debate. My choice is to vote for the budget, attempt to amend it and then vote for it, or pose an alternative. This will depend on what the majority on Council come up with. Watch this space.

Council admitted to have over 200 contractors in a report I commissioned on the level of OHS law and EBA compliance from contractors. This must be addressed in the future.

The footpath trading and liquor licencing issues were discussed again on Tuesday, at this I am not really sure as to whether a majority of Councillors will listen to residents and get change implemented in terms of new stronger laws and better compliance policed by Council. This will come clear over the next few weeks.

There is much movement in the Hoddle St area over getting better Vic Roads action on safety barriers. I met with the State member and local residents last night on the issue, with another meeting in one week. I am confident there will be a good result for residents.

No action from the State Dept of Human Services in terms of cleaning up and redesigning Noone St laneway in Clifton Hill. Residents are getting very angry and I can smell a public protest in the air if no action is taken soon.

The same goes for another issue on Council that will be either solved or escalated in the next few days.

The Smith St stall is continuing well, every Saturday from 12 noon outside Safeways in Smith St. Come down for a chat and coffee with me and my comrades any Saturday.

Here 'tis:





STORM THE CHAMBERS CHILDCARE CAMPAIGN





On June 14 the newly formed Storm the Chambers Childcare Campaign will arrive at the Yarra City Council meeting at 7.30pm with the 600 odd children currently languishing on childcare waiting lists in the municipality of Yarra.





WE NEED YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN





Currently the Yarra More Childcare Group are taking pledges from mothers and fathers who will bring their (and anyone else's children) to the JUNE 14 Yarra Council meeting, Richmond Town Hall, Bridge Road at 7.15pm. The children should be instructed that the usual restrictions on bad behavior will not apply. They need only be there for half an hour.





This action will have maximum impact and take only 1/2 hour of our time. It is an easy, quick and extremely effective way to make our point.





It can be made by Storm the Chambers mothers and fathers at their local council meetings, all over the country.





Circulate this notice through any lists that include mothers and fathers, tell all your friends










Dr Liz Conor

Postdoctoral Fellow

Department of English

University of Melbourne

Dear Editor



Steve Jolly should be congratulated, not condemned, for speaking out

about the appalling way Yarra council allowed a planning permit

extension for the "cheese grater" development.



Here we had an unpopular development that was fought bitterly by the

community and council, but approved by the unelected members of VCAT.

The developer was given two years to start work on the project, but

failed to do so. Yarra should have refused to grant an extension of

time, but instead did so without consulting anyone.



The question we should be asking is not why Cr. Jolly spoke out about

this appalling affair, but why the other Yarra councillors have not

yet done so. Councillors are there to represent the community, not

the bureaucracy.



Yours sincerely,



Paul Mees

At the April 2005 Yarra City Council meeting, I asked a ‘Question without Notice’ of the Acting Director of Planning, Jane Homewood, as to why a two year extension had been given to Ashlyn Enterprises for their Cheese Grater development in Fitzroy.



This extension had been approved without any consultation with Councillors or residents. The reason given by senior officers in the next few days was that the lack of consultation was regrettable, but because some demolition had occurred on site previously, the developer had four years to complete the work and therefore, in fact, had not really needed the extension. This was the position put by Council management to the Melbourne Times (MT, April 20th).



(Two years ago there had been a big community campaign to stop this development, followed by community outrage at VCAT for its approval of the development over the heads of Council and local residents. However, as the development was so ugly and unpopular, by the time the two year permit ran out this year, no development had taken place, and an extension was sought from Council.)



In the following weeks MT (20th April) under a headline “Red faces over cheese grater mistake”, I was (accurately) reported as saying: “If that’s true, it shows the laws are absolutely ludicrous and need to be changed”.



It has since emerged that in fact the demolition in no way absolved the developer from the need for an extension after their two years ran out.



I continued in MT: “It’s getting very close to the stage where radical action will have to be taken in relation to the planning department unless they do something very soon. There’s a crisis in confidence in the department. I want to see immediate improvement.



“Why does it take councillors acting like Sherlock Holmes to work out a secret extension given to the developer of the cheese grater? We’re expected to represent community interest, not to be Sherlock Holmes.”



The MT continued: “Cr Jolly said it highlighted the need to have structure plans across Yarra in place ‘so we didn’t have these bush-fires’.”



One Green Party Councillor later said they had been approached some of their rank and file asking why it was SP and not Green Councillors seeking improvements in the direction of planning at Yarra Council! Dr Paul Mees, Lecturer in Transport and Land Use Planning at Melbourne University wrote: “Steve Jolly should be congratulated, not condemned, for speaking out about the appalling way Yarra council allowed a planning permit extension for the "cheese grater" development.”



Yet this voicing of community concerns by me was translated in a letter to Yarra’s CEO, Lydia Wilson, from Australian Services Union Branch Secretary, Darrell Cochraine, to be: “’mud’ being thrown at (Council staff) for Cr Jolly’s own political purposes.” He also commented that: “public criticism of staff by any Councillor is clearly not productive as it affects the morale of staff.” This of course would be true if it occurred.



My job is to voice community concerns on Council. Many in the community believe there is a culture in City of Yarra (not just the planning department) that is harsh on residents and soft on developers and businesses generally.



We are no longer in the Jeff Kennett-era where the bureaucracy was supreme and not subjected to public scrutiny. No department is above criticism of the public and elected Councillors. I made a strong criticism of the Planning Department’s decision in MT and on Council and make no apology for it.



However I never attacked individual staff and never would – this can be seen clearly if people actually look at what I said to MT. In fact I am the only Councillor to raise pro-worker issues on Council such as the casualisation of the workforce at Yarra; ensuring contractors have EBAs and stick to industry work calender (I have report commissioned on this coming up at this Tuesday’s Council meeting); and even stopping the illegal phone message monitoring staff that had been in place.



If SP ran the Council we would change the political direction of the planning department, but not a single worker would be sacked. No other party represented on Council will give such a commitment to Council staff.



The ASU State leadership are wasting time on being dragged into political debates on Council (as they also did last December when they tried to suggest a better transport policy would lead to job cuts!), especially at a time when they have three members in the building regulation unit being witch-hunted by Yarra Council management.



These workers have been treated appalling by Council bosses, and are on stress leave, with one (who has given a decade of loyal service to Yarra) suffering a heart attack without as much as receiving a Get Well card from management. There has been nothing in the way of industrial action or even effective legal action from the ASU State leadership to defend these workers. Why not put even 10% of the energy they put into attacking me, into defending their members at Yarra? The reality is if the ASU leaders refuse to effectively defend their members, Council management will still face other action to defend these workers’ jobs.



I believe a union that signed away the 35-hour week for a 38-hour week in the last EBA for some Yarra staff and negotiated a tiny pay rise should be more self-reflective of its own performance. Speaking as a fulltime shop steward in Australia’s most militant and effective union, the CFMEU (construction division), I know many in similar unions share my views of the ASU leadership and feel sorry for its under-supported members.



Not surprisingly, SP’s political opponents on Council took advantage of the situation with their comments in MT (4th May). Cllr D’Agostino has the right to say what he wants to the newspapers, but I find it hypocritical that someone who doesn’t get out of bed in the morning without doing a cost benefit analysis tries to reinvent himself as a workers’ champion.



The central issue in all this that must not be lost is the need for the direction of planning in Yarra to be more in tune with the views of local residents. This central issue must and will continue to be discussed.