Ad hoc process

LAST Wednesday 13 November, I addressed a public meeting in the Harkaway Hall. I was speaking to a petition in relation to the two Landscape Assessment information and feedback sessions (inappropriately referred to as community forums) held at Narre Warren North and Harkaway last month. The petition rejects any claim that these sessions constituted due and proper consultation.
One of my grievances was that I had not received any notice, and further inquiries locally led me to believe the community did not receive adequate notification. The meeting agreed.
Casey Council’s Strategic Development manager Liam Hodgetts responded in last week’s Gazette (“Casey review slammed”) by stating that over 3800 invitations were issued. This is irrelevant when:
* A number of residents did not receive the notice and related forms;
* Some envelopes were addressed personally while others were addressed “To the Householder” and likely to have been discarded unopened;
* Some envelopes did not contain all documents.
Mr Hodgetts goes on to say that residents were surveyed on how the area should be planned to maintain its character. This is a flight of fancy.
Collection of input was ad hoc, and apart from the landscapes, no other values of the Casey Foothills were open for discussion. Council representatives refused to respond to any questions or provide any answers about proposed future development in our area.
Councils must consult with potentially affected residents in the early stages of the planning process, not only in order to tick that box, but also to ensure a genuinely democratic outcome. This is not achieved by arranging “forums” at which they refuse to take questions or provide answers. This is just masquerading as public consultation.
The petition concludes that if council intends to consider amending the Casey Planning Scheme to facilitate higher density development in the Foothills than is currently allowed, the two “community forums” held in October 2013 do not constitute the due and proper public consultation required.
Phil Wild,
Harkaway.