Fed up with the vandalism and theft on council property, Mitchell Shire Mayor Rhonda Sanderson released a statement explaining how the criminal acts are hurting the whole community.
Photo by Ben White
By Joshua Wells
Sand Art Gallery Romsey director Leo Vamvalis wants more space so artists can create their works but also proudly hold exhibitions.
The calls come after the Macedon Ranges Shire Council revealed a desire to create an Arts and Culture Strategy 2018-2028.
Mr Vamvalis – who owns the Sand Art Gallery business with his partner Rosie Gallicchio – said space is a crucial piece to the creative puzzle.
“We need it to provide space so we can create and hang our works,” he told The Free Press.
“That is what artists are looking for no matter their art form. They need a space to create their work and if the region wants an artistic culture there needs to be this room.”
“We are a town art gallery and we express our art through sand sculptures. We are self-funded and we don’t get much support.”
“We are doing it ourselves and no one supports us… if artists had the resources here we can help people achieve their goals.”
The concert has been organised by Kilmore’s Caroline Killeen who met a musician by the name of Gino Lupari. This chance meeting has led to the unique concert and a lifelong friendship.
Before his arrival to the North Central region, Mr Lupari said it was an easy decision to want to bring his band to Kilmore because of the friendships he has made.
“I have known the lovely Caroline for a number of years and of course her brilliant family,” he said.”
“The family have become good friends to my brothers and sisters and my mum. We have all spent many happy hours together so I did make the decision to play Kilmore on this tour; a very easy one.”
“About playing music in a gaol, let me put it like this, we’re not the only Irishmen to play and sing in jail.”
“Our mugs are primarily Irish dance music and we play it with big smiles on our faces.”
The band will hopefully bring smiles to the people of Kilmore on Sunday at the Old Gaol from 12.30pm.
There will be no tickets at the door.
The verdict, which was handed down before Christmas, upheld a decision by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VGLR) to refuse the application for 40 electronic gaming machines to be installed at the Commercial.
In December 2016, Woolworths owned Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH) was refused an application to install the machines by the VCGLR, the independent statutory authority that regulates and approves poker machine licenses.
Following this refusal, ALH Group sought a review of the decision at VCAT together with the planning permit that was refused by council in March 2017.
City of Whittlesea Mayor, Cr Kris Pavlidis applauded VCAT for upholding the VCGLR decision and said the decision was a win for the community, with 40 less poker machines to be installed in the municipality.
“Should ALH Group have won this hearing, there would have been a total of 711 poker machines in the City of Whittlesea,” she said.
“We just can’t afford any more machines in our vulnerable community.”
“We know from our communities and the losses sustained, that pokie machines are harming the fabric of our society. The ripples are felt through not just the person who loses, but family and friends, neighbours, workplaces and businesses.”
“We commend VCAT for this decision and for recognising the VCGLR’s original outcome.”
Currently, the City of Whittlesea is home to four of Victoria’s top 10 venues for poker machine losses. In the last year $107 million was lost by residents on poker machines, which equates to $293,136 lost every day.
Alliance for Gambling Reform spokesperson and ‘Say No to Pokies’ advocate Susan Rennie said she was delighted with the judgment.
“I’m delighted with the outcome; it is a real win for the community of Whittlesea, particularly residents of South Morang,” Ms Rennie said.
“I think it’s an important decision to ensure millions of dollars will remain in the pockets of families in Whittlesea and also the community has a pub to go to that doesn’t have poker machines.”
Pointing that half of the municipalities loses already come from pubs owned by Woolworths including the Bundoora Hotel, The Excelsior Hotel in Thomastown and the Plough Hotel in Mill Park, Ms Rennie said it was ‘pure greed’ of the ALH Group to want more poker machines in the City of Whittlesea.
“Woolworths must have spent half a million dollars fighting this application when they should have taken note of what the community wants. They should stick to supermarkets and get out of the pokies business.”
“The VCAT decision is a win for the City of Whittlesea as the municipality already experiences so much harm from poker machines.”
Local resident Chandana Rao gave evidence at the tribunal hearing and told the Whittlesea Review she was happy with the decision by VCAT.
“I’m really happy because I’ve been there since the beginning of the campaign,” Ms Rao said.”
“It’s a better outcome for the community, and for people who are worried about the effect of pokies in the community.”
ALH was contacted for a response.
The Interface Councils Human Service Gap Analysis Report revealed that significant gaps in health and human service provision continue to affect 1.6 million residents in interface municipalities.
The report shows that mental health support, housing and homelessness support, family violence support, allied health services, alcohol and other drugs services, child protection and disability support all fall short in Melbourne’s interface region.
Mitchell Shire Mayor, Cr Rhonda Sanderson told the North Central Review that there are many people in the shire who are in critical need of access to these services, but are unable to due to long waiting lists or because there are very limited travel options to get to places like Epping, Shepparton, Bendigo or Melbourne to access them.
“According to our 2017 Health Profile, the need for people in Mitchell to access mental health and drug and alcohol support services was higher than the state average.”
“We also have soaring rates of family violence reports, which in 2015-16 were 57 per cent higher than the Victorian average, the number of drug offences detected in Mitchell is significantly higher than the state average, and the number of home and community care services available to those aged 0 to 64 years is 23 per cent lower than the state average,” Cr Sanderson added.
The report confirms that families in interface areas face a total estimated funding gap of $175 million per annum across various service areas that directly impact daily life.
“The report tells a tale of numbers. But in reality, it’s the quality of people’s lives that are being compromised by an inability to access health and wellbeing support where they need it,” an interface councils spokesperson said.
“Notably, the numbers in this report represent the many people – women in particular – experiencing the hardships of family violence and who don’t know where to go for safety and support in times of crisis,” he added.
Cr Sanderson said that access to early intervention and crisis support is important for the health and wellbeing of people in the community in the shorter and longer term.
“Our growing community deserves easy access to these vital support services, regardless of where they live,” Cr Sanderson said.
The report recommends that interface councils request an immediate injection of funding to bridge critical health and human service gaps in the impacted municipalities.
“Going forward, reform of the service delivery system is required to make sure it can respond to constant population growth and changing demographics as well as enable long-term and localised solutions to the service disparity that currently exists,” the report adds.
Interface Councils will be working with the Victorian Government to trial a new approach to service delivery to start moving towards a more positive reality where residents can access the health and human support they need, regardless of where they live.
The Human Service Gap Analysis Report was commissioned by Melbourne’s interface councils to understand the significant service provision gap in and to indicate reasons for geographical service distribution.
Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas was joined by the Minister for Regional Development, Jaala Pulford at a local winery to announce the funding from the $1.5 million Wine Growth Fund.
Passing Clouds winery, in conjunction with Daylesford Spa Country Railway, will receive $30,000 to expand its tasting room and build a railway platform as a stop for the tourist train.
Other projects in Macedon Ranges Wine Region set to receive funding include: Granite Hills Wines, to develop exports to Asia, Guildford Vineyard and Cellar, to improve tourist and function facilities, Sandy Farm Winery, to establish walking tracks with fitness points that lead to the winery and Wilimee, to implement sustainable wine practices.
The Wine Growth Fund supports wine businesses to innovate and grow in a range of areas aligned to the industry’s strategic direction, and the Wine Strategy.
Grants from round one and round two of the Wine Growth Fund represent a total investment of $1.6 million towards the Victorian wine industry.
Victoria’s wine industry continues to sparkle on the world stage, with 800 wineries and 3000 vineyards across the state, employing 12,000 people and generating $1.5 billion each year.
Ms Thomas said that nothing tastes sweeter than success and Macedon growers can be proud of their efforts in developing sustainable, attractive and innovative projects that will see wine sippers flock to the region.
“The Wine Growth Fund aims to grow the industry by providing innovative growers, organisations and projects with funding to expand. It supports activities from the vineyard to the cellar door and beyond,” Ms Thomas said.
Ms Pulford praised the diversity and character to Macedon Ranges wines. She congratulated the funding recipients for their ideas and passion.
“With the Macedon Ranges on Melbourne’s doorstep, visiting regional Victoria just keep getting better. The region is bringing wine, food and culture together and nothing could be better than that,” Ms Pulford said.
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The Doreen man has been charged with multiple counts of burglary, theft of motor vehicles, property offences and assault police. The Doreen resident has been remanded to appear at Ringwood Magistrates Court on January 10, 2018.
The Eastern Region Crime Squad and Echo Task Force members arrested the Doreen man alongside two other offenders during a burglary in Euroa on January 5.
During the arrest, at about 2.45am, two police vehicles were rammed by the offenders driving an allegedly stolen Kia Cerato.
Two of the three men are believed to have been involved in a series of burglaries and ram raids in Kinglake, Nagambie, Yea, Bundoora, Doreen, Epping, Mitcham, Healesville and other metropolitan areas.
The burglaries targeted commercial premises and targeted cigarettes, ATMs, safes and jewellery.
The 25-year-old from Preston has been charged with multiple burglaries, theft of motor vehicles, property offences and assault police and will appear at Heidelberg Magistrates Court on January 19, 2018.
The 25-year-old Heidelberg West man has been charged with multiple burglaries, theft of motor vehicles, other property offences, assault police and reckless conduct endangering serious injury. He appeared at Shepparton Magistrates Court yesterday, January 8, 2018.
Mernda CFA members (from left) Bryan Santilli, Hayden Marshall and Alex Latham will join Santa this weekend as they partake in the annual CFA Santa Run. See page 2 for the full story.
by Brooke Haffenden
THE City of Whittlesea’s council meeting again had to be adjourned due to the absence of councillors.
With several important items on the agenda, including nine rescission notices of motion, the last meeting of the year on Tuesday, December 12 was thrown into disarray with apologies almost reaching epidemic proportions.
While Cr Tom Joseph is on leave, council received apologies on the Tuesday from councillors Ricky Kirkham, Mary Lalios, Norm Kelly, Alahna Desiato and Caz Monteleone.
As council was unable to have a quorum, the meeting was adjourned to last night, Monday, December 18 as per Meeting Procedure Local Law. Following last month’s council meeting, which saw two councillors removed and two walk out, many disgruntled community members at Tuesday’s meeting saw it as a deliberate boycott by the five absent councillors.
Three of the councillors who failed to attend told the Whittlesea Review they had legitimate reasons for their apologies, citing work commitments and personal/family matters. Councillors Kirkham and Lalios did not respond to calls for comment. Councillors Desiato and Monteleone said they were not surprised people assumed the councillors were absent as a protest given the way the last meeting was run.
“The last meeting was an absolute joke. Some councillors tried to ram through items such as the Plenty Valley Town Centre Structure Plan and the intersection upgrade for Lyndarum Drive,” Cr Desiato said.
“Residents who attended this meeting wanted further consultation and were clearly upset with the poor decisions made by the majority. These decisions will impact the residents in a huge way. These councillors refused to listen to the residents whom they are representing.”
“People are assuming it’s a protest because poor decisions are being made at council, decisions that are hurting the community and defy common sense. Some councillors are putting politics ahead of the community and that’s unacceptable,” Cr Monteleone said.
Mayor, Cr Kris Pavlidis said she was disappointed by the absent councillors ‘poor behaviour’.
“Is this the kind of conduct our residents can expect and accept by elected representatives, particularly the president of the MAV,” Cr Pavlidis questioned.”
“Regardless of what’s on the agenda, as an elected representative we have a responsibility to turn up and do the best we can for our constituents.”
“We had to adjourn council business, which includes a whole range of issues which impacts on the broader community.
“Part of being in this role is attending council meetings and representing our constituency. It isn’t a game; our residents deserve a lot better.”
Former councillor Rex Griffin, who served the City of Whittlesea from 1990 to 2016, was in attendance last Tuesday and said it was ‘absolutely disgraceful’ to see the meeting adjourned due to no quorum.
“All councillors sign a document that they will serve the community but to not show up with a gallery full of people wondering what’s going on… it’s appalling,” he said.
“Councillors not prepared to show up should leave. It won’t be long before administrators come in.’
“The signed a pledge to serve the community and if they’re not prepared to serve the community they should get out. Alright you get defeated but you show up. You put your hand up to be loyal and serve the community in all ways.”
Member for Yan Yean Danielle Green raised concerns over the meeting in Parliament last Thursday.
Ms Green told the Whittlesea Review the actions of the absent councillors “denied quorum and disrupted the good governance of the Whittlesea Council, ensuring council business could not proceed”.
“The actions of these councillors, who vote as a block, left community members present disappointed in their LGA representatives … these members of the council are exhibiting some very troubling behaviour,” she said.
“I believe the Whittlesea Council must begin streaming their council meetings online as soon as possible to increase accountability to ratepayers. Residents in Whittlesea deserve much better.”
