Melbourne City Council continues to come under attack as Melbourne's business community begin to loose confidence in the Lord Mayor and the administration of the City Council. John So extraordinary long honeymoon has come to an end as he faces the reality of running a city.
Herald-Sun 9Feb2006
More and more City business leaders are beginning to question the Lord Mayor's policy and directions. John So's hypocritical and ill considered 'war on cars' is seriously undermining public confidence in his ability to manage Melbourne's future development amidst concern that the City Council unjust tax on inner-city car-parks and increases in the cost of on-street car-parking is beginning to bite as city consumers begin to give the city the miss.
How long can they keep milking the cash cow before it stops giving milk
The selective taxation on Melbourne businesses and city commuters and associated increased cost to the consumers seriously undermine the viability of Melbourne's retail sector with suburban shopping complexes being the main beneficiary.
The Herald-Sun reports that business are already planning to shut up and move shop to another location.
John So is quick to reclaim the title of Lord Clown as the City Council is fast becoming beyond a joke.
Lord Clown and his Deputy hold on to their cars as the Council refuse to disclose cost to ratepayers - Claims of hypocrisy as the Lord Mayor advocates other to abandon their cars.
Whilst John So advocates a tax on City commuters to ease congestion the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor continue to zealously hold on to their Council funded Limousines, with the City Council last Tuesday refusing to disclose or make public the full cost for the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor's cars which include free petrol, free inner city car-park and the Lord Mayor's Diver (estimated to be worth over $250,000 per year)
What are the benefits from the Council's unjust double-taxation
Although Melbourne is still yet to finalise its transport policy the City Council has already allocated the spoils of the new tax which is a bit like pulling the horse before the car.
The car-parking tax, supposedly designed to ween Melbourne off cars and help ease inner City congestion is being used to establish a free tourist bus in direct competition to the free tourist-tram and existing 'private' service providers. The Tourist bus along with other proposed transport solutions are ill-considered. As the Herald-Sun editorial correctly points out Melbourne needs to first improve its public transport before providing a free ride for 1/2 day tourists. Tourists also use public transport.
Melbourne's transport policy was developed in isolation with the needs of Motorcycle Riders and other transport users not consulted. The fact that the Council's policy ignores the needs of Motorcycle riders altogether is an indictment against the Council administration along with the our City Councillors who are ultimately responsible for the management of the City.
The longer the City Council continue down this road the more the State Government will distance themselves from the Lord Mayor and Town Hall and Melbourne begin to face the problems associated with having a directly elected Lord Mayor and a City Council that is unaccountable and oblivious to reality and living in fools paradise.
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