By SP Cllr Stephen Jolly
Last nights council meeting was bursting to the seams with Alphington residents. The residents were there to support a motion to seek a compulsory purchase of land backing onto the Yarra river belonging to a couple of residents who made a selfish decision to attempt to erect a fence to stop public access along the river.The act symbolises all that’s bad about modern capitalist, dog-eat-dog society and the fightback from the community showed the best way to deal with it.



I said that the State must take some responsibility, Council can stop this but there could well be further attempts elsewhere in the future. We need a clear State law guaranteeing the right to walk the river to the public. No amount of policy statements about “Yarra Corridor”, “Metropolitant Trails” mean anything if they are not policed with the necessary law and enforcement.

Child Care

I asked a Question without Notice about the impending decision of Melbourne City Council to withdraw funding to its child care centres, raise fees by 16%, and cut staff costs by 10%. This outrageous decision will be a body blow to child care in Melbourne and lead to a rise in spillover demand in Yarra. It is amazing that Federal Liberal backbenchers are calling for more child care places - yet MCC is moving in the opposite direction. They want to hand over their Council-run centres to not-for-profit and profit providers and use more volunteer (read parent) labour. It will be interesting to see how MCC Green Councillor Fraser Brindley votes on Thursday.

No Freeway tunnel for Yarrra!

I asked a Question without Notice about the ‘Sunday Herald Sun’ report that a $5 million study is to be commissioned by the State government with the ‘result’ apparently to be a call for a tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway and the Western Ringroad. This tunnel would be in Clifton Hill.



Such a move would suck in a massive amount of extra cars into our area, worsening air pollution, and potentially cause more accidents. We must oppose this move by the Labor government and their mates in the road, oil and car lobbies.

Opposing destruction of tram stops

The Greens and Socialists lost a vote to the ALP and Independents (5-4) on opposing the ripping out by Yarra Trams of two more tram stops on Victoria Parade. Six current stops on Victoria Pde between Hoddle St and Nicholson St are to be replaced with four ’super stops’ drapped in loads of private advertising.



Yarra Trams has been a public transport disaster (along with Connex), and also want to move the Hoddle St/Victoria Pde tram stop to the East, onto Victoria Pde itself. This will mean people will have to cross the busy Hoddle St to get a connecting bus.



I suggested that if the State government listened to the community these two private operators would be out of business when their franchises run out in 2008. Therefore we should delay a decision until then. Surprise surprise, this was not accepted by the ALP and Independents.

Salta monster development

Council noted their submission to the Priortity Development Panel, established by the State Planning Minister to advice on the Salta development. This massive development near Victoria Gardens in North East Richmond makes the Banco development seem quite small in comparison. Residents in attendence and Councillors were satisfied with the submission, however it was predicted by Ian Quick and other residents that the Panel may offer a deal whereby Council accept a Priority Development Zone on the site in return for some concessions from Salta. It was agreed that a PDZ would never be accepted by Council as it cut out the third party rights of residents.

No to Pokies

Council unanimously support the excellent submission to the State government’s ‘Electronic Gaming Machine Licensing and Funding Arrangements’. Council now has probably the best and most progressive gambling policy in Australia. See Council web site for the submission.