When the constituents of Waverley and Ravenswood ask for a bit of hand up to help their community deal with the consequences of COVID-19 Crisis the Mayor tells them to go talk to the State Govt. Yet, when the Mayor floats a program to help people with, Council funded 'innovation grants' the city's movers and shakers in the know get the inside running it seems.
Perhaps the auditor, the one to be appointed, albeit reluctantly, to look into the innovation grants process and its outcomes will be able to shine a light into those dark and dingy corners at Town Hall.
When the press calls-out the inequity, albeit somewhat surreptitiously, you can put money on a bunch of councillors screaming 'blue bloody murder' and shouting from the rooftops that they are misunderstood. And that is not to mention the assertion that it is misplaced innuendo feeding of inappropriate social media. You see because they are elected representatives they must be trusted.
The Councillors who are screaming oh so loudly, Cr Soward and McKenzie, and lamenting the $30K to $40K Council is now being called upon to spend on an auditor to deliver an independent assessment of a project and process with an unpredictable outcome stand out. That this money might be better spent there is no doubt but as they say, "justice not only has to be done it needs to be seen as being done." That we will see or not see.
It is interesting to note that the 'Waverley Community Co-op' is mounting a GO-FUND-ME initiative that just might not raise $30K but when they were to apply to Council to get some help they are told to "talk to the State Govt." Oh yes the Council did help them out with a bit of ASTRO TURF to help the aged constituents avoid sliping in the mud at it FOOD STALL.
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You see these people are savvy enough to have a FACE BOOK site and the Mayor's 'innovation grants' grants are for businesses to take such initiatives and if you are already there what's to be done? As someone has said somewhere, this COVID-19 Crisis is raining on everyone but it is the CBD and 'the deserving' who should get the umbrella. Deciding who 'the deserving' are requires expertise and inside knowledge too it seems.
The City of Launceston's authority in the area of 'social distancing' with a little more effort will be second to none. The distance between the deserving and undeserving is informed and guaranteed by the GM (akaCEO) under Section 65 of Local Govt Act so it is beyond question.
Interesting this was amplified at Council's last meeting when the Mayor rejected a call to ban the dumping of food waste in municipality. There is a French law forbids food waste by supermarkets and Launceston couldn't/shouldn't be doing anything like that even in the wake of the COVID-19 Crisis if say people in the outer suburbs need the food.
Town Hall's 'disconnections' and 'rejections' are loud and clear and the only way it seems anyone can get a message to Town Hall is via SOCIAL MEDIA because it does not require bureaucratic approval to test an idea, to call-out recalcitrance, to point out inequity, to say that something has the oppressive odour of rotten flesh mingled with the stench of mouldy manure so strong that it makes you gasp for breath.
You see, that sort of commentary is antisocial, disruptive and untoward and thus unacceptable.
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