$1.6m Wannon Park upgrade to proceed despite scandal
A $1.6 million upgrade of greyhound racing facilities in Warrnambool will go ahead despite the fallout from the live-baiting scandal. File image: www.greenhounds.com.au
By Carol Altmann
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]he Warrnambool Greyhound Racing club is in line for a $1.6 million upgrade that will still go ahead – at this stage – despite the fallout from the greyhound live-baiting scandal, Bluestone Magazine can reveal.
Bluestone has learned that Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) had agreed to fund a $1.6 million upgrade of the Wannon Park facility, based at the Warrnambool showgrounds, well before the live-baiting scandal was exposed by the ABC’s Four Corners program on February 16 and which led to widespread calls for the industry to be banned.
The shocking revelations of some Victorian greyhound trainers using live animals such as rabbits, possums and piglets to train their dogs also prompted the resignation of the entire Greyhound Racing Victoria board and the loss of several major sponsors, including Bendigo Bank, Schweppes and Macro Meats.
Warrnambool Greyhound Racing club manager Mike Cottee did not respond to several requests for comment on whether the financial fallout for Greyhound Racing Victoria would impact on the upgrade plans, or if the Warrnambool club had lost any direct sponsorship.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] A [/dropcap] spokesman for Greyhound Racing Victoria, however, said the upgrade was still going ahead “at this stage”.
“The redevelopment is continuing as planned,” he said.
“There has been no impact at this stage.”
The spokesman could offer no further information on the timing of the redevelopment, but it is understood to have been scheduled for mid-2016, pending the outcome of lease negotiations over the site.
The entire Warrnambool showgrounds site, including Wannon Park, is owned by the State Government and leased back to various groups for a nominal fee.
The $1.6 million upgrade is understood to include significant improvements to the Wannon function room and will be the first major redevelopment at the site since the track was reconfigured in 2008.
Wannon Park has operated at the site since 1978, when it replaced the former Botanic Park, where St Joseph’s Primary School now stands opposite the Botanic Gardens.
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Silencing councillors tightens grip on public right to know
Speaking to journalists will become much harder for Warrnambool City Councillors if a proposed change to its media policy goes ahead. Image: Third Sector.
ANALYSIS – Carol Altmann
The attempted shaming of three Warrnambool City councillors for speaking to a journalist is yet another step toward shutting off information to the public.
And if you care about freedom of speech and freedom of the media, then the events of the past few days should be very troubling.
First, some background.
Late last week, the agenda for this Tuesday’s council meeting was released and contained a report given to chief executive officer Bruce Anson from the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate following its investigation into the leaking of confidential council documents to The Age early last year.
The inspectorate concluded that it could not determine who leaked the documents.
But it did conclude that three councillors – Brian Kelson, Peter Hulin and Peter Sycopoulis – met with a journalist from The Age the night before it ran the first of several stories about links between then-Premier Denis Napthine and Midfield Meats owner, Colin McKenna.
It was not hard to reach this conclusion, because the councillors told the inspectorate about this meeting.
After all, it has never been an offence for an elected official to speak to a journalist and it happens every day.
The assumption, of course, is that the three councillors used this meeting to hand over secret documents, but this is wrong.
The Age journalists, Royce Miller and Ben Schneiders, have issued a statement to say that they were already in possession of the documents before this meeting.
How did they get the documents? Who knows, but in a world dominated by public relations officers and media managers, leaks and whistleblowing are often the only ways that information in the public interest can come to light.
Cr Peter Sycopoulis was one of three councillors being shamed for having met with a journalist from The Age. Image: Warrnambool City Council.
The inspectorate knew the three councillors had done nothing illegal, and it prepared a confidential report naming the three councillors that could only be released with the approval of the CEO, Mr Anson.
Ironically, Mr Anson decided to make this confidential report public, and included it in the agenda. In other words, what is and isn’t kept confidential by council is entirely at Mr Anson’s discretion.
A front page headline by The Standard followed but, in what I believe is unprecedented for a newspaper, it didn’t defend the profession of journalism that relies on research, well-placed sources, whistleblowers and leaks, but instead leapt on the “revelation” that three councillors had met with a journalist, as if this was a crime.
Its sycophantic editorial went even further and defended the former Premier against such “damaging” behaviour, saying that he must “be itching” to ask what was discussed between the councillors and The Age journalists.
This is coming from an organisation that knows the trust between a journalist and a source is fundamental to flushing out what those in power don’t want you to know, but is in the public interest: like the fact – as reported by The Age – Dr Napthine (and our Federal MP Dan Tehan) held shares in a racehorse with Mr McKenna.
A compliant newspaper and a media-managed council is a powerful combination in a regional city, and it could soon get even worse.
The public right to know hinges on the ability of journalists to ask questions of sources. Image: Disclose This.
Lost within the story is a recommendation by the inspectorate that the Warrnambool City Council put its boot even harder on the neck of elected members.
It has suggested – and the council will now consider – changing its media policy so that councillors MUST tell the council’s communications manager, Nick Higgins, when they speak to a journalist, about anything.
What right has a government inspectorate got to try and gag elected councillors?
It is an outrageous recommendation and one designed purely to ensure that the only information released to the media (and therefore, to you, the public) is that which suits the council’s chief executive or the mayor of the day, whoever they may be.
This closing down of voices in local government is a growing trend across Australia, and comes as newsrooms are shrinking.
Indeed academic papers* have been written on this increasing secrecy and the restraining of elected members by tightening a council’s media policy.
We need to ask ourselves, who does such secrecy benefit? It is certainly not intended to benefit you, the humble ratepayer.
No, it is designed for councils to move more and more information behind closed doors so that decisions can be discussed – and made – by those with power without any “distractions” from the public.
We here at Bluestone Magazine have already been cut off by the council’s media unit: our questions now go unanswered and our requests for interviews with certain council staff are denied.
This is what happens when you don’t play by the rules or you refuse to stick to “the message” – but Bluestone will keep investigating nonetheless.
Warrnambool should not be distracted by the public shaming of three councillors for talking to the media – this is not the problem. The much more worrying issue is the move to stop councillors talking to journalists at all.
Huge apartments will set ugly precedent
The proposed nine-storey apartment complex on Gilles St/Merri St, Warrnambool, is at odds with the council’s recommendation for medium density housing of no more than five storeys in this area. Image: Tract Consultants.
ANALYSIS – Carol Altmann
[box]Update: a recommendation for a permit to be issued, subject to conditions, will go before the Warrnambool City Council on Tuesday, April 7. If you wish to have a say, contact the councillors directly.[/box]
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] A [/dropcap] quick quiz: how tall is the Warrnambool War Memorial? And how many storeys is the Lady Bay Resort?
The answers will follow shortly, but you can rest assured that neither are as high as the monolithic, nine-storey apartment complex proposed for a small, prime piece of land on the corner of Merri and Gilles streets that takes in views right across Lake Pertobe, Lady Bay, and beyond.
The $20 million project by Baybern Developments, whose director is the founder of Midfield Meats, Colin McKenna, intends to squeeze 51 apartments – including three exclusive penthouses – into a complex that will tower almost 30m (28.6m) in to the air.
By way of contrast, the war memorial angel stands 10.9m, the townhouses opposite Cannon Hill are about 12m (three storeys) and the Lady Bay Resort, which some of us are still recovering from, is around 20m (five storeys).
This proposal, if approved, will leave them all in the shade.
And while Tract Consultants*, who are acting on behalf of Baybern, keep referring in their application to a seven-storey complex, it is quite clearly a total of nine-storeys (including two ‘basement’ levels), that will be hard to miss.
This is high-density housing on a scale never before seen in Warrnambool, let alone in an area that is a stone’s throw from the heritage precinct of the former court house, post office and police station. Even the house right next door to the development, Colern, has been recommended for heritage protection.
The proposed development would transform the view approaching the war memorial angel, which stands at 10.3m compared to the 28.6m complex. Image: Tract Consultants.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] T [/dropcap]he Warrnambool City Council is acutely aware of the need to get city planning right, not just for the citizens of today, but to ensure we don’t screw it up for those who will call Warrnambool home in the future.
As such, it has invested a huge amount of time, energy and money (on consultants and in public consultation) on creating a roadmap known as the Warrnambool City Revitalisation Structure Plan 2012 which, in theory, sets out guidelines for how the city centre should develop over the next 20-25 years.
It is an inspiring document, full of wonderful images and packed with possibilities to again make the CBD the beating heart of our great, seaside city while also maintaining its unique character.
But the Warrnambool Apartments project, as it is known, is the first real test of whether this plan is worth the paper it is written on, and the signs are not encouraging.
Here are just a few examples:
Firstly, the plan recommends a limit of five storeys for this particular part of Merri St, provided it can also “suitably transition” with what is already in the area and doesn’t “prejudice the established scale and character”.
Despite this, the revised project recently submitted by Tract in response to feedback from council officers and objectors remains at nine-storeys, while also wrongly claiming that the nearby TAFE building is four storeys (it is three).
Second, the council plan lists as a key objective its support for “medium density” housing in the CBD. By its own admission, Tract describes the Warrnambool Apartments as high density.
And lastly, but no less importantly, the council plan highlights the beautiful Norfolk pines around our city centre, describing them as “iconic” and “unique”, yet the Warrnambool Apartments will involve ripping out two semi-mature Norfolk pine growing on and near the Gilles St/Merri corner. (In an Orwellian-twist, Tract promises one tree will be replaced with another Norfolk pine or a similar species.)
The revised plans reveal a different colour scheme and more detailed landscaping among the minor changes. Image: Tract Consultants.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] W [/dropcap]e are not privy to the discussions between Tract and the council’s officers, but surely – if the council is serious about its strategic plan – it would have run a red line right through the initial proposal and sent Tract back to the drawing board.
But no. Not only did the nine-storey plan make it to first base, it has made it to second, with the revised plans showing very few, significant changes at all.
Yes, some balconies have been removed, and there has been a lightening of the colour scheme, but whether it is painted blue, grey or gold, it is still almost double the number of storeys of what should be there.
And let’s be clear: the reason it has remained this way is the penthouses.
Levels 5 and 6 are “sub penthouse” levels, each of five, no-doubt-spectacular, apartments.
Level 7 – the top floor – is the cream of the crop with just three, exclusive penthouses.
So the top three levels will provide 13 dwellings for the 13 couples or individuals who can afford them, while another 38 apartments will be clustered below.
It is enough to make any council salivate – the thought of having dozens of rateable properties where previously there was only one – but this is where good planning must prevail.
Nobody is arguing against more inner-city housing, but this monumental over-development – if approved – will set a dangerous precedent for Warrnambool that will destroy the very things the council’s plan is designed to protect.
*As an aside, “tract housing” – which has nothing to do with Tract Consultants – is a style of housing known for its cookie-cutter approach in which “multiple identical or nearly-identical homes are built to create a community”. It is particularly prevalent in parts of the US.
How the development appeared in its initial plan, since revised. Image: Tract Consultants.
[box]Disclaimer: Mine is among the seven objections lodged for this proposal. References used for this piece include the planning application lodged by Tract (PP2014-0162) and the Warrnambool City Revitalisation Structure Plan 2012 which can be downloaded here. [/box]
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The recent Helmsman Poultry Auction at the Warrnambool Showgrounds attracted some serious chook fans, including the Crazy Chicken Lady whose identity is revealed below.
Words and photos by Carol Altmann
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] W [/dropcap]hat is it about the humble backyard hen that makes normally clear-headed people so clucky?
It often starts out innocently enough: a family decides to rescue a few chickens from an egg farm, or buy some pullets from the poultry auction, but within weeks -if not days – there is a transformation.
Facebook updates start to appear about feather growth and egg shapes, together with snaps of lovingly made chicken coops and, in the ultimate sign that the chickens now rule the roost, a list of their names and developing personality traits.
Even US author Alice Walker(The Color Purple) has fallen under their spell, producing a 2012 memoir in which each of her hens rates a mention in the title: “The Chicken Chronicles: Sitting with the Angels Who Have Returned with My Memories: Glorious, Rufus, Gertrude Stein, Splendor, Hortensia, Agnes of God, the Gladyses, & Babe: A Memoir“. Now that’s a title!
Eric Walsh, from Purnim, understands the appeal and, 12 months ago, joined the flock of those charmed by chickens and confesses he now owns “too many” hens, guinea fowl and quails.
“You can spend half an hour watching chickens and it changes your whole attitude,” he explains.
“It takes you from work-mode to relaxed-mode in a flash. You just have to make sure that you scrape your boots before you go back inside or the stress returns in a flash,” he laughs.
Self-confessed chicken fan Chris Dance, from Camperdown, who free ranges more than 150 chickens on her property…and yes, she does talk to them when rounding them up.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] E [/dropcap]ric was among the capacity crowd at last week’s Helmsman Poultry Auction at the Warrnambool Showgrounds hosted by the Warrnambool and District Poultry Club which attracted a record 232 pen count.
Among those also squeezed between the cages of Isa Browns, Plymouth Rocks, Barnevelders silky bantams and swizzles, was a mythical Crazy Chicken Lady – in this case also known as Chris Dance, from Camperdown – who has more than 150 chickens free ranging on her 1400 acre property.
“It’s in my blood. My father was the crazy duck man and I am now the crazy chicken lady,” she smiles, adding that she bought her specially printed polo shirt online.
“And yes, I do talk to my chickens. I have a good old talk to them while I am rounding them up for bed at night.”
The humble hen is finding its way into the hearts – and homes – of people around the south-west.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] O [/dropcap]f course you don’t need to have 150 chickens to fall under their spell: the fastest growing group of poultry fans are those who buy three, four or five to suit an urban setting.
“A lot of people are going back to the days of having chickens in their backyard,” says poultry club committee member Jackie Harry, who also runs a poultry breeding business that specialises in Barnevelders, Wyandottes and French Wheaten Marans.
“They make such rewarding pets, are easy to look after, and kids can be involved in collecting the eggs, which not only teaches them where food comes from, but about the lifecycle,” Jackie explains.
Michael Duggan, from West-End Hens in Warrnambool, sees chickens as livestock but has a strong appreciation for those who love the birds as pets.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] M [/dropcap]ichael Duggan, who on the back of demand recently transformed his Warrnambool business from reptiles and poultry supplies to purely poultry specialists (West-End Hens), believes the egg factor is critical.
“Chooks are a pet that keeps giving,” he says, “they give something back for the time and money that is put in”.
Michael adds that chickens are also little workhorses around a garden, pecking at bugs and aerating the compost, but there is no denying that many owners grow to love them simply for being chooks.
“I have five chickens and I see them as livestock, but I know a lot of people see them differently – they pick up their chickens and cuddle them – and they just love watching their chickens go about their day,” he says.
[box] Michael’s answers to five quick questions about chickens:
1. Is there always a pecking order in a hen house? Yes, and some people try to intervene. It is best to let them sort it out.
2. Best breeds for laying? Isa Browns, Hyliners and Australorps
3. Best chickens for children? Silky bantams
4. What is the average life span of a chicken? Four to eight years and they can lay eggs for their entire lives.
5. Do all roosters crow? Yes, eventually, and this is why they are not permitted in suburbia, but you can always buy a cock collar*. (*A story for another day.)
[/box]
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] T [/dropcap]his deep affection extends to caring for hens that were once housed in commercial egg farms – part of the response to an increased awareness of animal welfare – and a preparedness to spend money on chickens who fall ill or who no longer produce eggs.
“I think a lot of people buy chickens because they want eggs, but then it changes and, even if they stop laying, they end up keeping them for other reasons and become very attached to them as pets,” Michael says.
Who could resist this face? One of the day-old chicks at Michael Duggan’s business.
[box type=”download”] Thanks to West-End Hens (Norfolk Plaza, Warrnambool), we are offering one lucky Bluestone subscriber a free 20kg bag of Eggs 4 Sure, Backyard Layer Grain Blend. Email us at editor@bluestonemagazine.com.au by April 10 to be in the draw (and feel free to attach a photo of your ‘girls’.) [/box]
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Clarice painting at Mount Macedon. Image supplied by Artists of the Valley.
[dropcap style=”color: #a5cecd;”] T [/dropcap]he hamlet of Casterton is again celebrating its links to one of Australia’s most inspiring early women artists, Clarice Beckett, with an art prize named in her honour.
The Clarice Beckett Art Award is organised by the small but vibrant arts group, Artists of the Valley, which “stumbled across” the connection between Casterton, west of Hamilton, and Clarice several years ago.
The event is held to coincide with the annual Casterton Kelpie Muster, that draws hundreds of people to the town from across the district and beyond on the Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend (5-7 June).
A main prize of $500 is on offer, with a $50 prize for all other sections including oils, acrylics, watercolours, mixed media, works on paper, 3D and a youth award (under 18). Artists can enter as many categories as they like, with a fee of $5 per entry.
The Yarra, Sunset, painting, oil on board, 30.5 x 35.5 cm, by Clarice Beckett. Image: Menzies Art Brands.
[dropcap style=”color: #a5cecd;”] C [/dropcap]larice Beckett was born in Casterton on 21 March, 1887, to a bank manager, Joseph Beckett, and his wife, Elizabeth, both of whom Clarice would spend most of her adult life caring for after they retired to Melbourne.
It appears Clarice spent only her earliest years in Casterton, having been sent to boarding school in Ballarat and, later, moving to Melbourne where she took drawing lessons at the Melbourne Gallery School under the guidance of Frederick McCubbin and Max Meldrum.
While Clarice held exhibitions with her fellow students at the Melbourne Gallery School, very few of her works sold during her lifetime and it was only many years after her death, at the age of 48, that her work was “rediscovered” and celebrated for its excellence.
Unfortunately, however, by the time her work came to be appreciated, hundreds of her paintings were beyond repair – having been stored in an open-sided barn in rural Victoria for more than 40 years. A further 31 were destroyed in a house fire.
It is this tragedy, and the belief that all budding artists deserve the opportunity of a “fair go”, that inspired the Artists of the Valley to establish a prize in her name in 2012.
[box]Entries for the Clarice Beckett Art Award close on Friday May 22. The exhibition of works opens at the Casterton Bowls Club on Friday June 5. For full details and entry forms, visit the Artists of the Valley website here.[/box]
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