Council votes to allow car access to small area of Travancore park
Another sad day for open space in Travancore at Council this evening. Our Council policy not to grant access to vehicular traffic on parkland was ignored by all but two Councillors (myself and Cr Chantry). Council resolved to give access to a property owner in Mooltan St to drive over parkland to access the rear of his property where he has built a gate without a planning permit. Other councillors said it was merely moving a rail and posts. I see it as moving a commitment to protect open space into a shredder. Vale another patch of Travancore parkland.

Events coming up:
Fundraiser this Friday 29th Oct - 6:30pm at the Moonee Ponds Bowls Club. $50/$35 conc. Adam Bandt, Colleen Hartland, local artisits, Come along! RSVP to rose.iser@vic.greens.org.au

Planning Debate: Nov 6th 2pm Ukrainin Hall, Essendon - All Essendon candidates invited

Early voting: starts Nov 15th

It's been busy! Visit us at our office at 728 Mt Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds. Office open daily.

France's planning rules - sound pretty straightforward
3.1.2. Planning Rules
This part of the plan will set out the general planning rules that will apply within each development area. In particular, it will set out rules on change of use, permitted height of buildings, building arrangement, any architectural requirements, and public utility services and requirements.
It will also set out the maximum permitted density of development on a site for new and existing buildings. These rules are called the coefficient d’occupation des sols (COS).Using these rules it is possible to calculate the density of permitted development on a particular site, e.g. on a 800m² site a COS of 0,25 allows construction of 200m² of net surface area, called surface hors oeuvre nette (SHON).
If the property is located on a lotissement (housing development) then, in addition to the general planning rules, there are specific rules that apply to the lotissement, which are set out in a cahier de charges.
If you are considering buying such a property then it is important you read and understand these rules as they govern the management of the whole development.

A script for changing the climate
Interviewer: So Mr Bumby, you have taken great action on climate change. Is that right?
Mr Bumby: Oh yes - without a doubt. Victoria is leading the way, not only in per capita emissions, but also in action. We are still on the move - moving forward and we are the place to be.
Interviewer: What have you done?
Mr Bumby: We have created jobs.
Interviewer: Anything else?
Mr Bumby: Yes - we have drought proofed the state. With our big desal swamp, it never needs to rain again. In fact, we don't want it to rain again.
Interviewer: But it uses lots of power doesn't it? Is that a problem for you?
Mr Bumby: We have taken care of that - we have renewed the power at Hazlewood. All that energy was renewable and we renewed it.
Interviewer: What about other renewable energy - like solar power?
Mr Bumby: Well, it might not rain again - and it might never be sunny again. It's climate change after all.
Interviewer: And transport - what about peak oil and carbon from cars?
Mr Bumby: We have absolutely looked after that - cars will never stop again as they go around on all the links we have linked - from Westlink to Eastlink and all the links we will link them with. Moving forward all the way will mean fewer emissions. No stopping. No stopping us at all.
Interviewer: Thank you.

Council meeting tonight -
High lights and low lights: investigation into supersonic jet plan at Essendon airport; successful Notice of Motion to engage community in budget discussions and ten year capital works plan; dealt with two dreadful planning applications that contrvened at least ten ResCode standards (we need clear rules!! - shouldn't be looking at an application in a residential street for 75% site covergae when the standard is 60%); and finally supporting e-waste collection eighteen months after my notice of motion on the issue was lost. Lowlight - again being interrupted by the Mayor and told that what I was saying was wrong...

A busy week!
An exciting week as our first Greens federal member of the House of Reps, Adam Bandt, gave his first (of many!) stiring speeches.
Locally, things have been very busy. We have been looking at a new policy for street art after Jane-Louise was told to remove her beautiful mural.
We are looking for a venue for a Toy Library. We are trying to finalise where we go with heritage overlays in Flemington, Ascot Vale, Moonee Ponds and Essendon. We are dealing with car parking adn the open space contribution - and a new CEO has been appointed at Moonee Valley City Council.
On Monday, I will have some exciting annoucements about the Essendon campaign. Stay tuned. And enjoy the second Grand Final.

Oromo Women and 1 Ascot Vale Rd
Today I was asked to speak at the Graduation ceremony for Oromo women who had completed a leadership course. Wingate Community Centre was its usual hub of activity, aromatic cooking, children playing and young people hanging around in their hoodies. I based my short speech to the women on Nancy Reagan's (of all people!) quote: "Women are like a tea bag: you never know how strong they are until you put them in boiling water." We talked about the boiling water that they might have been in or might find themsleves in as they start to run their own incorporated association - conflict within the group, competing commitments, badly run meetings... starting to sound a bit like Council!
Earlier in the week, I sat at VCAT listening to residents defend their neighbourhood against CBD infiltration - 20 storey proposal at 1 Ascot Vale Rd. I look forward to the time when both new and older arrivals to Australia can plan their neighbourhood together at well run meetings and have VCAT respect their vision.

EID Festival
Eid festival at Debneys Park. Building a bigger crowd each year - but all wrong when speeches begin. next year, no specches - just dancing and serving good food and celebrating.
All the while, the residents of the housing estate invited for the party are struggling with windows that don't open or close, cockroaches, washing machins that break and mould growing where the rain falls inside.
No-one asked them if they wanted a new swipe card systme or an intercom installed. They would prefer maintenance that comes when they call and an Office of Housing office on site.
Instead -sausages and bad long speeches were on offer instead.

Solar bulk buy at Moonee Valley
I wish Julia Gillard had been at Moonee Valley last night. She could have had a Climate Change conversation with the 200 people who turned up to hear about how they could be part of a bulk purchase of solar panels. We didn't have enough chairs. People had to strain to hear and see what was on offer. People want to do their bit to use something other than dirty, brown coal. If a local government can do something about that, surely a federal government can do something more.

Public Transport Quiz - try it!
Following very good evening with Colleen Hartland talking public transport in Essendon, I invite you to take my quiz.
1. From Essendon to South Bank, which is quicker: Craigieburn train or 59 tram?
2. Major events and public transport: who is responsible for coordinating the two?
3. What is the percentage of old infrastructure that travels north and west compared to south and east?
4. Do you have to 'touch off' a Myki card on a tram?
5. Have new Clearways times improved tram travel?
6. Are new stations built with ramps, not stairs?
7. What is the average wait between trains in Melbourne?
8. How old is the Passenger Information technology in Melbourne?
9. Do five year olds have to pay for a ticket?
10. Is tram inaccessibility like apartheid?
For answers 1-9, send me your guesses. For 10, ask Greg.