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Local candidates learn to overcome voters' blog
BY ROSEMARY BOLGER
FIRST it was federal politicians on Face-book, now increasing numbers of tech-savvy councillors and council hopefuls are invading the blogosphere to get an unflltered message to voters.
Municipal Association of Victoria president and Port Phillip councillor Dick Gross predicts that almost every councillor and candidate will have a blog in time for the next election in 2012.
Maroondah councillor Alex Makin pioneered the use of blogs to communicate with
ratepayers. The idea has been embraced by council candidates in the lead-up to next month's election.
Yarra councillor Steve Jolly started a blog under the heading "councillor diary" on the Socialist Party's website when he was elected to the council four years ago. Independent candidate for Melba ward, Ian Quick, has been blogging about Yarra issues for several years.
Cr Gross said candidates needed to devote time to their blogs to make them an effective campaign tool.
"I have the impression candidates who set it up without much experience of blogging
were struggling to keep them up to date," Cr Gross said.
He is considering setting up a Facebook site, which he admits would be mostly maintained by his children.
The MAV is likely to offer training and advice to help future candidates and councillors get on top of technology in time for the next election. Those ahead of the pack this year have the advantage of getting their message directly to the electorate.
"The frustration of public office is you feel that the message is never out there with the nuances you want," Cr Gross said.

Conflict of interest bill would restrict councillors
BY BIANCA HALL, TMT 8/10/2008
COMMUNITY activists elected to local government could be sued for voting on contentious issues under a bill being considered by Parliament.
The upper house is due to vote on a revamped series of laws governing the conduct of councillors in two weeks.
If the bill is passed, any councillor who makes a submission or objection on an issue his or her council votes on would be considered to have a conflict of interest. Fines of more than $ 11,000 apply.
Under the new rules, councillors would be prevented from objecting to a range of matters they could be expected to vote on.
Save Our Suburbs president Ian Quick is a candidate for November's Yarra City Council election. Mr Quick, who regularly lobbies councils on planning and transport issues, said the new law "removes councillors' ability to make submissions, let alone objections, on a wide range of issues".
He said it was "a typical move by this State Government to muzzle democracy" and "an attempt to silence councillors who are also members of community groups".
Under the bill, councillors would be prevented from making submissions on matters including council budgets, local laws and planning schemes and then voting on those issues - or even being present during a vote.
Councillors' family members would also be barred from making submissions on community issues.
Local Government Minister Richard Wynne said the new provisions had been included on the advice of Liberty Victoria president Julian Burnside QC.
"An elected official must at least have an open mind to hear arguments, and that is the key criteria that anybody in public office should adhere to," Mr Wynne said.
Northern Metropolitan MLC Greg Barber will try to move amendments to the bill to scrap the section relating to conflict of interest.

Height restriction fight a big pretense
Once again the hypocrisy of Yarra Council is demonstrated - how can councillors complain about the lack of height limits when they lose a case at VCAT ("Hunkering down for the high-rise fight", TMT, September 10), when they have spent the last four years refusing to put height limits in?
Residents have been asking them to do exactly that for years, and they keep on saying that it isn't a priority. As recently as the March 2008 Yarra Council meeting I asked when structure plans (which can include height limits) for Bridge Road and Swan Street would be done - and the answer was the council would "start" looking into it in 2010!
Height limits are clearly not a priority for the current Yarra councillors, and no amount of pretending before the November election will make up for the years of inaction.
Ian Quick / Candidate for Melba ward, Yarra City Council

Look in the mirror
IT is a bit rich that Yarra Mayor (Judy Morton) is complaining about the 10-storey development that VCAT approved on Bridge Rd (Melbourne Leader, July 23).
She is one of the councillors who have repeatedly refused to put height limits on either Bridge Rd or Swan St - something I have been urging Yarra council to do for the last five years.
As recently as the March 2008 Yarra Council meeting, I asked them when structure plans (which can include height limits) for Bridge Rd and Swan St would be done - and the answer was they'd start looking into it in 2010.
Every time I've asked this question over the years, the answer is always two years out from whenever I asked. I keep being told it's not a priority.
With multiple high-rise permits submitted for Bridge Rd, and the Dimmey's site on Swan St sold to a developer who plans to build a high-rise, councillors should look in the mirror to see why they don't have any chance of stopping them.
Ian Quick, SOS president and candidate for Yarra Council's Melba Ward

TMT, 30/6/2008
Yarra's problems are worse than you think
While I agree with Suzana Talevski (Letters, TMT, July 23) that there is a problem in Yarra with liquor licensing - and that Yarra Council is doing nothing about it - it is worse than she realises.
The current council has actually gone backwards, while the problems have been getting worse. The council has removed the full-time amenity officer (who was available late at night to respond to resident complaints), removed the local law that restricted public drinking in certain areas between particular times (although the council never used it anyway) and specifically voted not to introduce a local law to control noise from all licensed premises in Yarra.
Councillors have also specifically voted not to introduce late-night parking restrictions in residential streets near night clubs and ignored every recommendation from their own liquor licensing workgroup (of which I was a member) and then disbanded the workgroup!
Ian Quick/ Candidate for Melba ward, Yarra City Council

Tunnel is not good for Melbourne
When I read that ex-ALP MP Andre Haermeyer has attacked tunnel opponents as "yuppies" ("Ex-MP attacks 'yuppy' tunnel opponents", TMT, June 18), I thought I'd picked up the TMT silly edition!
Surely Mr Haermeyer realizes that if the Government spends $10 billion of our money on the tunnel, it won't be available for other things of much greater benefit to the community. And that's assuming it would be on budget, which is hard to believe given his Government's track record.
The same amount of money (or less) would revolutionise our public transport system, which is desperately needed given rising petrol costs and increased population growth. Getting commuters out of cars by providing proper public transport to all suburbs should be the top priority.
Traffic flows, changing driving patterns and the impact of a tunnel on roads and public open space all indicate that you couldn't justify the tunnel at a quarter of the cost.
Save Our Suburbs strongly opposes the road tunnel. Ian Quick/SOS president, candidate for Melba ward,
City of Yarra