Column of SP Councillor in Yarra - Stephen Jolly
Sometimes its correct to stand against the tide. Last month I was the sole
vote against Yarra’s 2005/06 budget - the 3 ALP, 3 Green and 2 right-wing
independent Councillors all voted in favour.
Taken from the August edition of ‘The Socialist’They ignored submissions from Victoria’s biggest public housing estate
(Richmond) for more support. I recently discovered that public housing
tenants in Yarra pay $2 million a year in rates via their rents to the State
government who then hand back rate money to Council. This fact was swept
under the carpet for years to justify shoddy treatment of public housing
tenants by Council.
The Greens and ALP also ignored pleas from the Socialist Party for
investment in child care, a new North Fitzroy library site and an indoor
sports facility for Yarra. They continued to slug rate payers with a 4.9%
rate rise. They continued to pump millions into the pockets of the mini-army
of senior management at Yarra - I believe this Council is over-managed and
described it at the July meeting as “dictatorship of the suits”.
Next year a better organised community mobilisation will occur around a set
of demands on Council for the 06/07 budget. Watch this space.
It’s all very well describing Yarra Council as progressive but the reality
is somewhat different. Many staff have faced a witchhunting management and
the community suffer neo-liberal budgets. Smith St has Council signs calling
it “Green Street” yet all Councillors oppose SP’s attempts to introduce
recycling for businesses - therefore shops continue to dump their recycles
in normal waste bins.
Banners outside Town Halls and reams and reams of reports and bogus
consultations don’t change the reality of a right-wing blue Council with a
veneer of pink political colouring.
The SP Council newsletter has been distributed to thousands of homes in
Langridge ward. We are going to produce this every six months. Thanks to all
those supporters who have distributed and paid for it. In fact the whole
project is paid for by non-SP members.
This month I am moving a resolution calling on Council to oppose the Federal
government’s industrial relations changes and pledging to continue to offer
collective agreements to its staff and to rule out individual contracts for
staff. The ALP are bankrolled by the trade unions and the one Green
councillor is a union official - so one would expect full support for the
resolution. See next month’s paper for the result of this vote.
SP is working hard with the Collingwood Action Group to get the State
Planning Minister Rob Hulls to ‘call in’ the over-the-top Banco development
in Collingwood and moderate it to the wishes of the community (as codified
in the recent alternative plan submitted by Council). I believe Council and
the State Member should be doing more to pressurise the Minister. ALP
councillors should be representatives of Yarra with the State government,
not State government representatives on Council.
Finally, last months SP National Conference voted to stand a candidate in
the lower house seat of Richmond (that covers Yarra) at the State election
in November 2006. We have not yet decided on a candidate or on preferences.
However, we plan to run a very hard and professional campaign.
