Carol Altmann – The Terrier

What’s happening at Lyndoch Living?

It’s been a long time since I have written about Lyndoch Living – our other high-profile public institution which, in recent years, has become an increasingly closed shop – but with its AGM next week, the time is right to dive back in.

I do so under the tight collar of yet another legal action against The Terrier by Lyndoch Living – my third in 12 months.

This one has been running for some weeks now and I can’t tell you much more than that…for legal reasons.

I often wonder how much money has been spent by Lyndoch on hiring the classy Collins St law firm, K & L Gates, to go after The Terrier?

Perhaps this could be one of the questions at the AGM next Tuesday at 4pm?

Another, more pressing question I planned to ask concerned the $2 million budget blowout for the Swinton Wing upgrade and expansion which had its online, virtual opening in September.

The upgrade was reportedly budgeted at $11 million, but came in at $13 million.

Where did the extra $2 million go?

Another important question I was keen to raise related to the recent fire sale of the Waterfront Living swish apartments which, as long-term readers would know, failed to fully sell since being built in 2014.

This is largely because – according to real estate watchers – those on the south side of the “Rolfanna” apartment complex were in the shade and over-priced.

In 2014, the cheapest apartment in this block was $420,000. 

The last one is now under contract, having been listed at $305,000 – a $115,000 nose dive. Ouch.

A bunch of smaller, less salubrious residential units next to “Rolfanna” are for sale for as little as $185,000.

Did Lyndoch need to liquidate some fast cash to move on to the next part of its $100 million masterplan?

Good question!

Except I won’t be asking questions at the AGM, and neither can you.

That’s because the AGM will be online via Zoom and – unlike the virtual grand opening of Swinton Wing – is strictly invitation only and we haven’t been invited.

I have contacted several families of residents to see if they have been invited and no, they didn’t even know the date of the AGM, which once-upon-a-time was advertised widely and weeks in advance.

[I learned the date just last week, after a couple of emails to the Lyndoch media unit.]

Us mere mortals who have not been invited will have to wait for the video recording to be uploaded to the Lyndoch website, which sounds sort of reasonable….except we are still waiting for the video from the 2019 AGM to be uploaded to the Lyndoch website.

More importantly, we don’t get to ask any questions next Tuesday and – I suspect – that is the whole point.

Those who have been following this Lyndoch story from the beginning (last October), know that Lyndoch – despite being community owned and built on the generosity and support of locals – has changed to a Company Limited by Guarantee and is now a very tight shop.

At last count, it had just 16 members: nine board members, the Lyndoch executive and two life members, so every member is from within Lyndoch itself.

As long-term readers know, everyone from the wider community who has applied to be a member these past 12 months, has been rejected for what we might now call the “Peter Schneider clause“, no reason.

Even Vicki Jellie AM and retired lawyer Lynn Hudson didn’t make the cut.

In this climate of litigation, frustration and obfuscation, I feel we have only one choice and that is to appoint our own Member Of Lyndoch (External) to represent us.

So meet Abbey the Airedale Terrier, also known as a Waterside Terrier (which seems fitting), a breed known for being intelligent, outgoing, alert, confident, friendly and….courageous.

Abbey is just what we need in the kennel and she will be sniffing out some important issues in the lead-up to the Lyndoch AGM that still require answers.

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Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

An enthusiastic volunteer for Wannon Liberal Party candidate Dan Tehan caused a few ructions last week after she assisted elderly people to fill out their voting cards at a mobile polling booth in a local aged care home.

The volunteer entered the polling area several times to help the voters, showing them how to complete their ballot papers to, no doubt, put Dan at the top of the tree.

How-to-vote Liberal cards had also been distributed to the residents’ rooms, just to make their decision making that little bit easier.

Apparently once the Australian Electoral Commission became aware of what was happening, voting was temporarily suspended at the mobile booth and Mr Tehan’s office was contacted, with the volunteer told to cease and desist, or words to that effect. (I contacted Mr Tehan’s office today, but am yet to hear back.)

Unbelievably, all of the above has since been found to be perfectly legal under our election laws, despite the voters in question being among the most open to manipulation.

In fact another Liberal Party volunteer was also reported to the AEC last week after he helped at least a dozen residents fill out their Senate voting papers at a mobile polling booth in a Melbourne nursing home.

Normally, no party campaign workers are allowed within six metres of a polling booth.

The AEC investigated the Melbourne case and found that this rule did not apply to mobile polling booths, so the volunteer had done nothing illegal.

A spokeswoman for the AEC also told me today that if any voter wanted help with filling out their voting paper, they could ask for it from either an AEC worker or a party campaign worker, it was their choice.

Woah!

I can see a giant hole in the rules here with the words “POTENTIAL RORT” flashing in psychedelic red, blue and green.

There is nothing like having a party candidate schmoozing up to the elderly with some helpful how-to-vote tips when, potentially, that elderly person is not entirely sure who is running for which party, or what party they wish to vote for. (I speak from experience here, as my old Mum swung from Julia Gillard to Pauline Hanson, and back again, because she liked red hair.)

Surely such “help” should only be provided by an AEC worker?

This potential rort might not matter as much in a seat like Wannon, where Mr Tehan sits on a 9% margin and is unlikely to ever lose, ever, ever, ever, but in a tight marginal seat, a few “let me help you dear” votes could make all the difference.

The same applies to the Senate, where a few votes can determine the balance of power.

Watch this space, I reckon, for a change in the rules before too long, now that campaign workers are showing up right inside nursing home polling booths and only too eager to “help”.

(By the way, it is compulsory for everyone over the age of 18 to vote in federal and state elections in Australia, unless you have specifically applied for an exemption because of medical issues, dementia, mental health etc.)

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“YOUTH AND BUSINESS LOSE IN BY ELECTION FIT FOR DROVER’S DOG”

PETE SMITH’S MEDIA RELEASE

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] V[/dropcap]oters in the South West Coast have foregone an opportunity for change that will be manifested in the electorate’s youth and in business for at least a decade, according to failed Liberal Independent candidate Pete Smith.

“At a time when Portland in particular is looking for inspiration and leadership, people have voted for nothing more than an image on a poster and the Liberal Party’s logo,”  Mr Smith said.  

“With a campaign run out of Melbourne along traditional party lines and while constantly tethered to a Liberal minder, Mrs Britnell uttered not one visionary word.

“I don’t blame voters, I did exactly the same thing for over 40 years.”

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] M[/dropcap]r Smith said that with the electorate of no interest or benefit to the current Labor government, it was doomed to a decade of drip fed maintenance for roads and services and nothing more. “

“…and when a Liberal government returns to power, other more pressing marginal electorates will receive the lion’s share of funding.

“What our young people needed was a reason to stand tall, knowing that Portland was earmarked to lead Australia – if not the world – in renewable energy research and tourism while Warrnambool would be afforded the same status in dairying promotion and excellence,” he said.

“Businesses, particularly those in the services and hospitality sector should have opened their doors today (Monday) with a sense of relief and renewal, and with a spring in their step; instead it will be yet another dog day afternoon in what will become a decade of them.”

Notwithstanding what he termed a tragic and deeply troubling setback for the electorate, Mr Smith said he felt a sense of responsibility to strive to achieve more for the electorate as a private citizen than Ms Britnell will as the local member.

“I intend to seek Roy Reekie’s help to broker a meeting with Labor Premier Daniel Andrews to outline a plan of action in which he can demonstrate his personal commitment and concern for the electorate.

“Having been gifted a seat that a famous drover’s dog could have won for the Liberals,  Roma won’t be out to make waves or put the electorate and its people before the party politics, whereas I am and I can,” Mr Smith said.

[box]After taking an initial hit, the primary Liberal vote currently sits at 40% (down 16.6%) on the back of the thousands of pre-poll votes and postal votes now being counted. Candidate Roma Britnell will rely on the preferences of National Party candidate Michael Neoh to win. Independent Roy Reekie is sitting second with almost 17% of the primary vote, followed by Michael Neoh on 14.38%. You can find counting updates here.[/box]

Comment – Carol Altmann

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T[/dropcap]ake a moment to watch the 49-second video above.

This footage was taken around Merino/Digby by the daughter of Kellie Donovan, whose grandchild can be heard whimpering as the car bounces along roads that can only be described as disgraceful.

Kellie uploaded this footage to Facebook (Fix Our Rural Roads), together with photos of other local roads that have potholes so large, you need to drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid them.

Merino/Digby is just west of Hamilton, but anyone who has driven around the roads in south-west Victoria – including portions of the M1 Princes Highway – will be able to relate to it.

We have all gripped our steering wheels that bit tighter as we bump and slump our way across the dips and potholes that have turned our roads into dangerous obstacle courses.

Why do we have to put up with it?

Below is a photograph taken last Thursday of the archaic Warrnambool-to-Melbourne train service chugging its way toward Melbourne: it is slow, the carriages are old and often unsuitable for people with disabilities, and it is always crowded. Even the food is terrible.

Why do we have to put up with it?

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T[/dropcap]he third-world condition of our local roads and major train service are just two of the symptoms of living in a seat that has been taken for granted for decades.

Like Russian dolls, we live in a safe Liberal seat (the state seat of South-West Coast) within a safe Liberal seat (the federal seat of Wannon) and, in my view, this has bred contempt for the locals.

This contempt has been shown not only in the years of neglect of basic infrastructure such as safe roads, but in how our little patch is now treated like some personal family company by the Liberal Party.

We saw this played out in full colour this past week.

The retirement of long-serving South West Coast MP Dr Denis Napthine has seen the nomination of his 24-year-old son, Tom, as heir apparent and I can’t help but think of Rupert Murdoch passing the baton down to his golden sons.

Tom, despite being a novice, will no doubt have the full backing of Wannon MP Dan Tehan who owes Denis one for helping him get elected to a plum Liberal seat that he had never even lived in.

Dan, as he reflected last week, was mentored by Denis who, in turn, was mentored by Dan’s mother, the late Marie Tehan, another Liberal MP. See how it works? You look after my family, I look after yours.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T[/dropcap]his neat succession plan, however, hit a hurdle when another arm of the Liberal Party decided to push its own candidate – Donna Petrovich.

If this name doesn’t ring a bell, don’t worry, it shouldn’t: Donna is a former MP who represented the area around Macedon, north of Melbourne.

That’s right: another Dan Tehan moment, where a candidate is dropped out of the sky into the south-west in the hope of winning a comfy, safe seat.

Three other Liberal hopefuls have also emerged in Warrnambool Mayor Michael Neoh, farming advocate Roma Britnell and Glenelg Shire councillor Anita Rank. (The Liberal Party will preselect its candidate on Sept 20 – update Michael Neoh has since withdrawn and will now run for The Nationals).

And where is the Labor Party in all this?

Despite it being a rare opportunity where the sitting MP is retiring, they have flip flopped all over the place as to whether they will even bother to run a candidate.

As it stands, the ALP’s Roy Reekie is gearing up to contest the seat for a fifth time, but this time as an independent. (Michael McCluskey is also running again as an independent, while The Greens are yet to select a candidate (update: The Greens will again be represented by Thomas Campbell.)

And somewhere in the middle of all this internal squabbling and manoeuvring and climbing over each other for pre-selection is…you.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] S[/dropcap]o what do you want?

I know what I want.

I want our seat to become marginal, where no party, or person, can ever assume that they will be in power for year, after year, after year.

Instead, every election should be a hard-fought battle, rather than a fait accompli.

I also want a candidate who has principles and sticks to them.

Just last week we saw Michael Neoh say that he supported marriage equality, only to run the other way when he was asked by the Byron Shire Mayor to formalise that support. (Mr Neoh has not only since changed his stance on supporting gay marriage publicly, but changed political parties!)

And I want a leader who loves our part of the world and will fight for it, without becoming blinded by their own ambition to be a Minister, or Premier, or the well-paid chair of some parliamentary committee.

Is it too much to hope for?

I hope not, because without these things, I fear that we will continue to be the poor cousins of the state, rumbling along on our slow trains and broken roads to nowhere.

[box]The State Government is undertaking a state-wide review of its public transport systems, including for the south-west. You can also have your say online via this link here. [/box]

[button link=”http://the-terrier.com.au/subscribe-2/” type=”icon” icon=”people” newwindow=”yes”] Click here to become a Bluestone supporter.[/button]

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