What about Miners Rest?
A FEW days ago, I received the My Ballarat magazine and had a good read.
As a resident of Miners Rest, I read it more so to get any new information about what's happening around town. To my surprise, the magazine had a two-page spread on the 'making Buninyong' and 'making Learmonth' community engagement initiative on its completion. While what the two towns achieved was fantastic, the council failed, once again, to mention Miners Rest.
Miners Rest also was given the same initiative and formed a 'making Miners Rest' program and achieved a number of positive things for our town. I was again absolutely disgusted that our town’s achievements didn't even get a mention.
Council is wondering why this town is so angry and this, among other things, is why. Council has failed to do any adopted strategic planning since 1994 and our town went on anyway. We have flooded numerous times, two in the space of months in 2010/2011, and they are still scratching their heads on how to fix the problems, even though locals have been telling them for years how to fix it.
The saleyards are going to be dumped on our doorsteps because it's the easiest and best quick-fix option for council, yet we as residents we just have to accept it and apparently we don't have a say. They happily spend ratepayers' money fighting the ratepayers themselves to do this, and with nothing in return for the Miners Rest residents fighting them. It has been made quite clear Miners Rest don't want it and feel very abandoned. How can anyone trust they have our best interests at heart?
I look at Buninyong, which has a smaller population to us, and that town is beautiful. They have beautiful gardens, good road infrastructure, great shopping precinct and overall facilities. Why? The answer is simple. They have a fantastic councillor that looks after the best interests of that community. Miners Rest doesn't have that. We have lacked North Ward support for a very long time and can't wait to vote for new ones come October.
I think council needs to realise Miners Rest is a wonderful town of nearly 4500 people and still growing with developer-driven estates going in. We have the Ballarat racecourse, the Melbourne Cup winning jockey and strapper who grew up here, as well as the Melbourne cup winning trainer. We have a great community with a strong community spirit and if it was not for such community programs like Miners Rest Lions, Committee for Miners Rest and the Making Miners Rest program, nothing would ever get done. Miners Rest has come to terms years ago we are not high up on the council's list.
- Alicia Bond, Miners Rest
Cartoon on the mark
DITCHY’S cartoon last Saturday showing council employees discussing city parking congestion while council's own cars are parked outside in reserved spots was right on the mark.
As a commentary on double standards and arrogance, it was a 'cracker' and causes me to chuckle each time I think of it.
A few weeks ago, there they were ... nose-to-rear, bright-shining, large, white, four wheel drives with the name of the city council written large and bold on the doors, parked outside the Phoenix and down Bath Lane as far as I could see. Virtually a mass of vehicles screaming “This is my place to park, not yours”. Their drivers, presumably, were in a meeting inside.
The arrogance of not parking at one of the outlying car parks and using the free circulating buses to travel to the meeting seems not to have occurred to anyone in authority, or worse still, to any of the drivers. The message I saw was irreconcilable to development of a parking strategy unless it is intended solely for everyone else to the exclusion of council staff.
Council staff think and act as if they are a level above those of us who need to visit the city to work, do business and spend money.
- Peter Berlyn, Mt Rowan
