Clown Hall HYPNOSIS 1.5 Million Dollars RIP-OFF

Chairman of Finance, Cr Stephen Mayne, when asked "who was responsible for approving the expenditure of $1.5 Milllion and what steps had been taken to prevent such abuse in the future" remained stunned and silent at last nights Council's Future Melbourne Committee meeting held on Tuesday, leaving Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, to speak on his behalf.

The name Clown Hall being aptly used to describe the City Council.  The Council lives in fairy land. We would be  better off with Commissioners than this circus  of clowns whose only role is self adulation for stupidity, complacency, dinner parties and junkets. How many homeless could have been given shelter for this sum of money?

Hipsters hypnotised for $1.5m Melbourne Council advertising videos

• CHRISTOPHER GILLETT
• Herald Sun
• May 03, 2015 9:32PM

HYPNOTISING hipsters has cost the City of Melbourne $1.5 million.

The Town Hall has again come under fire over its spending, this time on a video marketing campaign called the Land of Inbetween.

Costing $3500 every second, the videos show young urban professionals being hypnotised so they can rediscover Melbourne.

Hypnotist Andrew Newton was flown in from ­Europe to guest star at a ­believed cost of $20,000. The rest of the money was spent on production and advertising.
It comes just weeks after the council was slammed for granting $20,000 on a choreographer to teach parking ­inspectors to dance.

The issue is likely to prompt further debate over excessive council spending, which Premier Daniel Andrews and Local Government Minister Natalie Hutchins warned against.

Melbourne City Council defended the project, saying it was within its $2.3 million ­marketing budget.
But the Herald Sun understands Lord Mayor Robert Doyle hated the initial pitch — along with many others — and the campaign had to be sent back to advertising agency DDB.

The million-dollar project was then almost canned before being re-edited and ­released online.
City of Melbourne spokesman James Talia said it was not unusual for a marketing campaign of this nature to be “tested and tweaked”.

Last night, the main video had just two likes and 837 views on the council’s official YouTube page.
The City of Melbourne said it had reached 54,000 people since launching.
Within council, the finished campaign is still divisive.

Councillor Richard Foster said it was hard to see where the value was for Melbourne, attracting one type of visitor who already lived here.

“Hypnotising hipsters may seem like an amusing thing to do, but it’s not when ratepayers’ money is used to pay for the experience. I really don’t think we need hypnosis, acupuncture or ozone therapy to attract people to Melbourne,” Cr Foster said.

In the council’s 900-word response, Mr Talia said: “Our marketing campaigns work.
“... We have a responsibility to our traders to do what we can to bring people into the city, especially in the colder months when there is usually a drop in traffic,” Mr Talia said.
Victorian branch chair of the Australian Society of Hypnosis, Dr Di McGreal, described the video as nonsensical, bizarre and wasteful.

“A city that can win the most livable city in the world shouldn’t have to hypnotise people to like it,” she said.

christopher.gillett@news.com.au

Shorten: Survey of one confirms what we know is true

Assistant Treasure Bill Shorten in his survey of one has conformed what we all know to be true. Retail and service providers have failed to pass on the win fall of Australia's high dollar to consumers. Prices of goods and services have not come down down down as the cost of purchase and profits from overseas services become cheaper.

A decade ago when the Australian dollar was low in value businesses were quick to pass on the costs of petrol and overseas manufactured goods to the public. Petrol broke though the one dollar a liter barrier and the costs of goods increased in compassion to the the Australian Dollar. Overseas travel became that much more expensive as the Australian dollar had to work twice as hard.

Today the opposite is the case. The Australian Dollar is twice as much in value yet the prices of goods and services has not gone down. Petrol remains high.

The extent of profit taking and opportunism is shown clearly in the English Language testing system. The cost of sitting an IELTS test in Australia is twice that of charged in the United States, UK and Ireland. The profits being paid to the the overseas licencing coping Seek Learning have doubled in value at Australia's expense. Instead of going up $20 from $310 to $330 the costs of sitting the IELTS test should have gone down.

It is this pocketing of the win fall and the failure to pass on some of the benefits of having a high dollar that has contributed to the decline in retail in Australia. With an in crease in the value of the dollar the cost of buying on line overseas sourced goods and shipping them to Australia has become much much more competitive and consumers are voting with their keyboards boycotting Australian retail outlets.

Add to that the cost of rent in shopping centers or the cost of parking within the City of Melbourne and extended hours parking restrictions apply and the landlords and City Council are also contributing to the economic inflationary pressure impacting retail in Melbourne. Instead of passing on the benefits oif a high dollar small retail outlets have the opportunity to use the win fall profits to off set other high costs associated with running a business in the city. Sure the City Council has discouraged shopping in the CBD. The CBD is no longer the place to shop. Services can be sourced on line and the consumer has to some extent greater choices. But this only applies where there is real competition but in prices and services offered.

organisations like Seek learning's IELTS have a legislative monopoly. Even though the Department of Immigration and Citizenship have began to recognise other accredited service providers the Skills assessment authorities such as the CPA and others continue to only acept IETLS as the only means of assessing English language requirements. If level of English is the aim of the skills assessment then why are they only prepared to accept IELTS as the only means of assessment. If alternative language assessments are available and accredited then why are not not being recognise.

Bill Shorten like that of many in Australia know all too well the price ripp offs we see day to day.

It is only by exposing the profit takers and subjecting them to real competition that the benefits of a high dollar will be passed on to residents.