Keep pressure on for ‘whiff of pork’

There are huge amounts of cash being splashed around at the moment by the State Government in the form of pork barreling.

However the people of Narracan may only get the whiff of pork if they head towards Melbourne.

The $225 million being spent on revamping Etihad stadium may be noticed if you go to the football or the Big Bash cricket.

Other sporting stadiums in and around Melbourne and Ballarat will get a share of $241.6 million.

If you want to go by train to the airport the Federal Government is coughing up $5 billion.

Billions of dollars will be spent on a new tram route from Caulfield through to Rowville. But what will Narracan electors get inside the electorate?

Probably the same unfulfilled promises we’ve always had. Imagine what sort of hospital we could get if some of the money was redirected our way.

However that carrot will be dangled in front of us come election time and then in all probability be hastily withdrawn post-election.

Constant agitation rather than blind acceptance of promises seems the only way to get somewhere.

Narracan voters need to keep the pressure on all the way to the election and even beyond. We are not second class citizens and our politicians should be kept well informed of that. Greg Tuck, Warragul

According to The Gazette, the independent entity’s identity is not just mysterious, but ghostly too. Although it’s hard to believe that the veil of secrecy is deceptive as well as protective, secrecy breeds suspicion. It’s the antithesis of the transparency and accountability expected of local government.

Lessons learnt surely go beyond councillors stressing to the CEO need for detailed analysis and business rationale to underpin decisionmaking, essential though that be. It’s equally important that councillors ask the right questions of officers and external advisers, to assure themselves of the quality of advice and recommendations coming to them.

The ‘good faith’ asserted by mayor Joe Gauci on behalf of the previous council is a prerequisite too, but self-evidently insufficient of itself to ensure sound decision-making. It would also be more convincing if Cr Gauci were prepared to disclose details that quite clearly are not, or ought not to be, confidential.

John Hart, Warragul