John So for Melbourne

If John So or a independent candidate of similar standing, who was able to attract 20% primary support and the preferences of minor parties votes ahead of the Greens and Labor, could win the state seat of Melbourne.

Analysis of the electorate vote has indicated that Labor could lose the seat but not to the Greens.

Labor's endorsed candidate Cr. Jennifer Kanis just does not have community profile to win in her own right. Her term on the City of Melbourne Council has been noted for her lack of community engagement in public debate. She has no community base and the electorate is open to contest from a candidate that is better known. A candidate that can attract preferences ahead of the Greens will win the seat provided the Greens will preference them ahead of Labor.

The Greens are not in a winning position to win the seat. Melbourne is a seat for labor to lose to an independent candidate.

Cr Kanis is expected to resign from the City of Melbourne Council if she is to contest the state seat. A count-back of the 2008 preference votes would see  Lisa Muscatello who had the support of 74 primary votes elected to fill the vacancy.

Scammers take their toll - Media remiss in its reporting

Late last year we exposed a scam involving a company called TecSavvy who would call prospective victims seeking to gain access to their computers and details related to the financial accounts. This scam came to light when I had the misfortune to purchase a Skype number that was previously used by the scammers as their support hotline and I started to receive to receive the complaints.

I contacted the Australian Federal police and the Media. Journalist, Wes Hosking wrote an article which was published in the Herald Sun. Sadly the article focuses on the Skype number and not the modus operandi of the scam. The name of the scammers was not published.

It is with much sadness and despair that this weeks ABC Consumer Quarter reported on Internet scammers. One of the girls interviewed said that her father's account had been wiped out by a scam that was identical to the one that I had tried to have the media and authorities expose. Even the ABC failed to mention the name of the company involved.

America acted to block the scammer's account why not Australia? I can not help but think the media and the Police failed these people.

Costing Councillors

Source. Sydney Morning Herald

HOW much do the elected members of local councils spend on themselves out of ratepayers' money? In today's electronic world most now have a mobile phone and a computer or iPad at public expense to help them do their job, but what about other benefits such as mayoral cars, taxis, hospitality and trips to conferences?

This information is tucked away in councils' statutory annual reports which must show the cost of facilities provided to councillors and their expenses.

An analysis of these figures - which do not include mayoral and councillor allowances that typically cost a council another $200,000 to $400,000 a year - shows Camden has Sydney's most frugal councillors, spending just $6592.59 on facilities and expenses in 2010-11.

The biggest spender on councillors is Hurstville, which outlaid $390,604.50 on facilities and expenses last year - down from $446,308 in 2008-09. This included $93,144 on office equipment for the dedicated personal use of councillors, $46,511 on conferences and seminars and $48,259 on dinners before council meetings and other catering. The largest council - the City of Sydney - spent less than $4000 on office equipment.

The next biggest spenders were Fairfield ($234,053), Campbelltown ($222,139) and Holroyd ($212,829, after taking out the cost of citizenship ceremonies). Liverpool stands out among the bigger outer-suburban councils with a modest expenditure of $50,826.

Despite a statutory requirement to provide these figures they are not evident in the recent annual report of Botany Bay Council.

Hurstville Greens councillor Anne Wagstaff put forward a motion some time ago that the ''council is neither to make available, nor serve, any alcohol to councillors or staff prior to the conclusion of all council meetings on any given day''. She was the only one to vote for it.

''We need to support the provision of a phone, a computer or an iPad, and reasonable allowances for a carer, transport and sustenance to encourage and ensure people from all backgrounds, in particular women, consider being a councillor,'' Cr Wagstaff said.

''In setting what are 'reasonable' allowances, councils should be guided by the Australian Tax Office or other similar government standards.

''However, the provision of such items should not be abused, such as claiming the full sustenance allowance when at conferences where plenty of food and refreshments are provided.

''Hurstville's weekend workshops at distant resorts at Terrigal and the Hunter Valley and alcohol with dinner before council meetings are not necessary or appropriate.'' Hurstville council provides a sustenance allowance of $154.80 a day at conferences, even when meals are part of the package. Marrickville councillors follow Tax Office guidelines and are not paid if a meal is provided nor reimbursed for alcohol.

Men at work: Greg Ham found dead at his Carlton Home

Greg Ham, Men at Work and Relax with Max flautist, saxophonist musician and friend has died at the age of 58.
The news of his death is devastating. Greg Ham was a long standing resident of Carlton and he will certainly be missed.

Photo Herald-Sun

My thoughts and wishes go to Toots (Linda) and the kids and his sister Rosy.

Call to remove Free Booze from Council's table

There is growing concern at the level of alcohol the Lord Mayor and Councillors are consuming leaving rate payers to pick up the tab.

The City Council along with members of State and Federal Parliaments need to set an example by removing alcohol from the table and replacing it with less intoxicating beverages. The City Council has a moral and legal duty of care. Staff and Councillors should not be drinking to excess.

Every time you see the Lord Mayor you begin to wonder just how much booze has he been drinking and what effect all this booze is having on his health.

Our City Councillors should undergo a blood test and health check admist concern that some may have a serious drinking problem. Alchole should only be available, if at all, on special occasions accompanied by a full meal. There must be limits placed on the amount of booze supplied to our City Councillors and statesmen. If the City Council provides free booze it encourages excessive drinking which in turn effects the bottom line and our City's governance

The Lord Mayor, in spite his election promise, has retained the chauffeured driven limousine in order to ensure that he is safely driven from one function to another and returned home safe. At an estimated cost of over $100'000 for the driver and cost of running the limo plus the costs of top shelf beverages the office of the Lord Mayor is costing ratepayers well over half a million dollars a year.

Enough is enough. Our City deserves better, We can no longer support drunken councillors running our City. Booze must be removed from the menu. if Councillors want a drink then they can visit some of Melbourne's bars and pay for it themselves. Rate Payers should not be expected to pick up the tab for their excessive drinking habits.

NBN: No Broadband Network for inner city corridor South of the Yarra

The long awaited National Broadband Network Infrastructure will skip inner city residents South of the Yarra.

Planning and roll out of the NBN continues to be under question as city residents who are the most likely to take up high speed broadband have been sidelined in the proposed roll-out.

Residents and businesses in Port Melbourne, Albert Park, Middle Park, South Melbourne, South Yarra, Prahran, Toorak, Armadale and St Kilda East are not scheduled to to be connected to the NBN in the near future

2008 Under the 2012 model

We decided out of interest to apply the 2008 vote under the new proposed model of nine Councillors.

It should be noted that this is indicative only. For the sake of the exercise we excluded Peter Clark from the count. He was replaced by Jackie Watts. (This time she was elected in her own right)

Elected	Candidate	Group
1	JETTER, Carl	JETTER
2	OKE, Cathy	GREENS
3	LOUEY, Kevin	McMULLIN
4	ONG, Ken	TEAMMELB
5	SHANAHAN, Brian	SHANNAHAN
6	KANIS, Jennifer	FOWLES
7	BINI, Luciano	JETTER
8	LEPPERT, Rohan	GREENS
9	WATTS, Jackie	MORGAN

* Results indicative only

Commission recommends increase in City Representation

The Victorian Electoral Commission has recommended in its final report that the level of representation of the City of Melbourne be increased from 9 to 11 Councillors - 2 City wide Councillors plus the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor team)

The Commission failed to address concerns related to the method of election of the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor and the City's external boundaries and voter franchise.The Commissions report also failed to address concerns in relation to the above the line voting, calculation of the surplus transfer value and count-back process used in fulfilling casual vacancies. The terms of reference of the Commission review prevented it from addressing the real issues effecting the City Council.

Putting the limitations of the review aside the recommendation to increase the level of representation and maintain a city wide electorate is a positive for Melbourne. A ward system based on geographical boundaries would have divided the city and communities of interest.

The Council votes as a whole and should be elected as a whole.

The geographical size of the Council is not too large (Similar in size to a State or Federal electorate).

Under the system of proportional representation, in spite concerns about the serious flaws in the way votes are counted and issues pertaining to the voter franchise - the City wide multi-member electorate is the most democratic.

An increase from seven to nine members elected city wide would ensure on average that 95% of the electorate would be represented by a representative of their choosing, where in a single member electorate up to 49% of the electorate would be disenfranchised.

Whilst there is ongoing urgent need for review of the City's electoral system, its external boundaries and the election of the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor - the recommendations proposed in the final report should be supported.

Review Disclosure - Due March 21

The Victorian Electoral Commission is due to publish the final report for the City of Melbourne Electoral review on Wednesday (March 21, 2012).

The preliminary report had recommended that the City Council representation be increased by 2, excluding the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor the number of Councilors would increase from 7 to 9. The initial recommendation proposed that the City continue to be elected as a whole.

Melbourne City Councilor, Jackie Watts, in a misguided direction opposed the increase in representation and proposed a reduction in democratic representation in order to establish Local Wards that she mistakenly thinks will increase her chances of election .

The criticism of the City Council is an indictment against the current Councillors and Council administration and the system of franchise and the direct election of the Lord Mayor and its external boundaries.

The problems highlighted by Cr Watts and some residents groups would not be addressed by the solutions advocated by Cr Watts. Cr Watts herself was elected not on merit but as a result of the flaw in the way the State Government counts the votes. Over 6000 votes were ignored in the count-back that followed Councillor Clarke's resignation . 6,000 votes that should have been counted but were not.

The Kensington Association submission is worthy of consideration. They have rightly supported the "City as a Whole" proposal with the fall back of a 3 x 3 ward option as being the most democratic. They also highlight the divisons within the Residential community. Residnets represent 40% of the City electorate and the City Wide model, like it or not relfects that breakdown although it is distorted by the system of direct election of the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor.

Sadly the real issues effecting the City Council will not be looked at as the terms of reference of the Commission was restrictive. It prevented the consideration of alternative solutions that would help address the many perceived problems surrounding the City Council. Those problems will still remain.

Hopefully the Commission will not compound the problems by supporting Cr Watts ill-conceived proposal.

Tomorrow we will know what the final recommendation is. We will not be holding our breath. The Commission has made many inconsistent recommendations in the past and we see no reason why they would break that model.

RACV refuses to provide statistical information

We had received the following reply to our request for detailed statistical information on the Melbourne Bike Share program. Information that in our view should be readily available.

It does raise the question why is the RACV managing this project and are we getting value for our money? Clearly not.

From: Kathy_Ilott@racv.com.au [mailto:Kathy_Ilott@racv.com.au]
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 10:05 AM
To: melbcity@gmail.com
Subject: RE: Bikes in south yarra botanical gardens precinct

Hi Anthony,

I am sorry, but this information is not available for Melbourne Bike Share to give out.



Regards,

Kathy Ilott
Melbourne Bike Share Coordinator

Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) Limited
Level 2, 550 Princes Highway
Noble Park Victoria, Australia 3174

( +613 9790 2674 / 0433 150 021
6 +613 9790 3065
* kathy_ilott@racv.com.au