BALLARAT City Council mayor Mark Harris’ admission that Lake Wendouree wasn’t up to the required levels for the Australian canoeing grand prix event and suggestion the council will take the blame for any problems encountered during the Head of the Lake regatta in March is both worrying and confusing.
It’s also refreshing in its honesty.
Cr Harris committed to being an open communicator and tackling issues head-on. The admission, however it might be perceived in the community, is brave given the council’s message on the works to restore the lake to its former glory and prepare it for use by a significant dredging and weed cutting program has been very consistent. That message has been that preparations were on track and that the process was going to plan.
Cr Harris’ comments yesterday provide the clearest sign yet that the process has not been nearly as smooth as the public message has suggested. Indeed, it justifies what many lake user groups and individuals have been suggesting for some time – that the timeframe for returning the lake to an operational capacity is extremely tight and requires no further impediments.
It is not in the interests of Ballarat or the council to talk down the lake’s condition and much is riding on the success of attracting old events back to the lake while also securing new events. But we wonder what impact the hosting of events which paint the lake, or the city, in a bad light will do for its reputation if conditions are not 100 per cent right.
Which brings us to the 100th anniversary of the Head of the Lake schools rowing regatta in March. Cr Harris and others continue to reassure the schools and Ballarat residents that this historic sporting event will go ahead despite underlying worries about the conditions that rowers will face.
We hope that it goes ahead because the dredging and weed cutting have been performed at levels which provide for the greatest level of achievement for those who compete and not just because that’s where we all want it to be on such a momentous anniversary.
Clearly, the task of preparing the lake is an inexact science; it is also costly and time consuming. Many variables complicate and test the process. The majority of Ballarat people will understand and accept this as being the case. They might even be prepared to forgive missed goals because of it.
What they won’t accept is a distortion of reality. Judging by his comment, mayor Harris understands this only too well.
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