YOUR VOICE: March 13-19

RATES WASTED

■ There’s an incredible waste of Hobsons Bay ratepayers’ money by our elected councillors.

Browsing the council internet site, I came across the February 11 meeting minutes where mayor Sandra Wilson’s program was approved.

This program aims to waste $49,000 of our rates on projects that I’m sure we all would struggle to understand.

Here are a few examples which are a blatant waste of our hard-earned money:

• Shorebird education and conservation: Construct and install an interpretive sign on the importance and diversity of unique local and migratory shorebirds, including public launch of sign – $10,000.

• Council advisory committees: A series of meetings with the council’s advisory committees. Facilitation, catering and documentation of outcomes – $3000.

• Youth leadership: Governance program for secondary students with biannual meetings. Facilitation, catering and materials – $1000.

Here we can see that the council plans to waste $10,000 to build a sign about birds, $3000 to “meet” with advisory committees, and another $1000 on a governance program for secondary students.

Can anybody tell me what a governance program for secondary students is and what would this possibly achieve?

We need to sack the lot of them if they are coming up with this rubbish.

RON KING, WILLIAMSTOWN RESIDENT AND RATEPAYER

RE. OPEN HOUSE MEETING ‘A GOOD FIRST STEP’ IN TACKLING TRUCK TRAFFIC WOES (Weekly, March 5)

■ They say “no quick fix”! Subsequent governments have done nothing for more than 10 years while the truck numbers continue to increase rapidly.

I’ve got a pretty quick fix. Extend truck curfew hours to cover school crossing times on Somerville Road in Yarraville and implement a night-time truck curfew on Moore Street in Footscray. And actually enforce them. The West Gate truck ramps bypass was a pretty good fix, until the Napthine government abandoned the project on its election.

So how about we bring this project back. And one freight train takes 110 trucks off our streets. Rail freight: now there’s a pretty good fix!

COLLEEN HARTLAND, GREENS MP VIA ONLINE