There’s fire needed in some bellies

COMMUNITY leader Ian Chisholm raised a highly pertinent point in Berwick’s fight to stop the proposed six-level hotel and shopping complex going ahead.
“It should be the ward councillors and residents working together who say what is best for Berwick Village,” he said.
He told the 150 people at the meeting in the RSL hall on Friday that residents had fought other battles against inappropriate developments. Some were won and some were lost.
One win he said was the “getting of Pioneers Park” land on which the Berwick Primary School stood for more than a century.
“This happened largely through the ward councillor of the day, Norma McCausland, taking the fight into the council chamber, where she convinced other councillors to change their minds,” he said.
My view is that we are not seeing this happen with this proposal because decision making has changed dramatically.
Of course many other people were also involved in the Pioneers Park campaign, including Casey chief executive Mike Tyler and Gembrook MP Tammy Lobato, who worked together to broker a land swap.
These things supported what started as an enormous community effort and so we have the beautiful park at the corner of Lyall Road and Peel Street.
Tragically, at the meeting current Edrington Ward councillors Simon Curtis and Daniel Mulino gave no such assurance of working for their community.
We saw no fire in their bellies, no guarantee of support was offered and none is likely to come because they are bound by Labor Party caucus rules and these are being used by the State Government to control local government.
And the State Government has listed Berwick Village in the 2030 plan as an activity centre destined for change although I believe this was meant to be more for the technology park south of the village.
Developers take little heed of a town’s history or ambience and look only at residential numbers and profits that can be obtained from individual sites.
Little thought is given about how their plans fit in with other infrastructure. They provide only what they are forced to provide.
We now have more and more planning decisions being taken over by the State Government where bureaucrats know little about places such as Berwick Village, the feelings of residents and heritage.
Berwick is remote from Spring Street and so residents are remote from government because the closest form of government, the council, is being removed from resident influence.
I want these two councillors to come out and say by or before the next public meeting on this matter that they will argue the residents’ case and not be bound by “due process” or a party caucus.
I want them to state where they stand on this issue before they go into caucus or council planning meetings and not wait for instructions from Spring Street.
If they support the proposal in their own minds then say so – if they don’t support it then say so and act accordingly.
Don’t hang back by saying residents should put in submissions. They have done that already.
These two councillors, of all people, should have been arguing the case for residents.
But if they think this proposal is a good idea they should tell the residents and tell them why.
Two councillors who argue and vote in the council can do much more than 200 residents calling for a fair deal.
Cr Curtis said he was proud about his family heritage in Berwick. But the development had been on the cards for a long time.
Not this development. The development expected was a proposal put more than 10 years ago, and accepted grudgingly.
My view is that the change is over the top and while change can be positive it can mean disaster in a place with a rich heritage.
Cr Curtis said there was a process and it was important to follow that process.
“I encourage people who have not made a submission to put one in and these will be looked at and the decision will be made on that,” he said.
Cr Mulino said he supported all Cr Curtis said.
Due process is a matter for the officers who will make a decision and recommendation on the application.
They do this by working with rules and regulations that can be interpreted in several ways and could find a way to refuse this proposal if they felt enough public pressure directed through the ward councillors.
Councillors Curtis and Mulino need to convince fellow councillors that Berwick people do not want this development as it is being presented.