HOBSONS Bay residents say they are “gobsmacked” at behaviour witnessed at last week’s council meeting, with some suggesting the council be sacked and replaced by administrators.
Trouble has been brewing over councillor personality clashes and two controversial decisions made at the May 8 council meeting.
A four-two councillor majority voted to ban discos at Altona Youth Hall, while all six voted unanimously to ban soccer training at Seaholme’s Fell Reserve. (Altona Meadows councillor Luba Grigorovitch was not present.)
Last week’s meeting turned into a circus after hundreds of soccer supporters turned up and councillors turned on each other.
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Mayor Tony Briffa, who is fighting a councillor misconduct accusation brought against him by Williamstown North councillor Peter Hemphill, adjourned the meeting after an item concerning the pair’s legal fees was deferred.
A report presented at the meeting was supposed to reveal costs for legal advice or representation between November 2004 and April 2012.
It is understood consideration of the report was deferred because it did not include legal fees related to a 2007 Supreme Court Winky Pop decision, which found “Cr Hemphill was affected by an apparent bias” in a planning matter.
Former Williamstown councillor Jessie Hodgson, who lives on the Noordenne Estate next to Fell Reserve, said she was in shock at the way the meeting was conducted.
“I was dumbfounded, absolutely dumbfounded. I was a councillor of Williamstown … and we never ever had a meeting like that.
“We would never ever disrespect our officers the way they did in putting those motions through last [fortnight] with a report coming up.
“I just could not get over the mayor. When he was asked a question about his legal expenses he just got up and walked out of the chamber.
“I think administrators would be ideal coming in here, I really do. Administrators are not that bad after all, as I discovered when we amalgamated [in 1994]. They were very fair, very good and we got a lot done.”
Members of Altona City Soccer Club feel that the council prematurely banned soccer while a consultation process was under way.
After the meeting, under-9s coach Dale Collins said the council should be sacked for behaving badly.
“This is my first meeting down here and I’m absolutely shocked and stunned at the way they react in there,” he said. “Unbelievable,
unbelievable.
“When questions were asked, legitimate questions, they just got up and walked out.
“My father was a founding committee member at ACSC in 1965. My son Liam is a third-generation player at Altona City, and these ‘faceless people’ don’t actually see the kids and see what our kids are coming through.
“It seems to me with the [banning of discos at the] youth hall and the soccer club that they would rather our kids were running around Altona with baseball bats and
bricks.”
Under-7s coach Tony Zulumovski said he had seen children behave better than the council. “I have seen better order in childcare centres and kindergartens. That was an absolute disgrace.”
Williamstown resident Paul Morgan said he felt the meeting could have turned violent.
“I was amazed, disappointed and disgusted by the antics displayed by councillors [Angela] Altair and Hemphill,” he said.
“I felt that the situation could have escalated to violence quickly, given the groups of residents present and how angry they were about other issues which were raised earlier in the meeting.”
