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Paul Klisaris' speech Monash councillor Paul Klisaris delivered the following speech at the City of Monash Council Meeting of November 12, 2002, in response to a motion put by Cr Felicity Smith to defer the rezoning of the Beryl Avenue ex primary school land. The
Importance of preserving and enhancing our Public Open Space Surveys indicate that people visit local parks more often than district or regional parks. Local parks are close and offer a high level of safety and security. But also Mr. Mayor, local parks act as links, enabling locals to meet and make new friends. Mr. Mayor, October this year the State Government released its vision for Melbourne. Titled 'Melbourne 2030 - Planning for sustainable Growth', this very important document is the manifesto for an improved Victoria and a much more improved Melbourne. A State which involves and encourages partnerships between governments and the community. A State which in partnership with its community builds on its strengths. A State which does all it can to preserve and enhance its garden status. Melbourne 2030 Mr. Mayor is an action plan to ensure the benefits of growth are shared and future planning decisions reflect the needs of the community. To achieve this Mr. Mayor, Melbourne 2030 sets its self 9 Directions or goals, with a series of policies and initiatives. And whilst all 9 Directions are equally important it's Direction 5 titled 'A great place to be' where I wish to start the debate. Appropriately called 'a great place to be' this direction has 10 policies which map out the direction that needs to be taken to call Victoria a great place to be. And it's policies 5.6 and 5.7 which are relevant in tonight's debate and hold the key in ensuring that the dream of Federation Park and the creation of new public open spaces come to fruition and remain in the hands of the community. Policy 5.6 Mr. Mayor reads as follows: "Improve the quality and distribution of local open space and ensure long term protection of public open space". And to ensure that public open space is improved and protected for future generations a key initiative of this policy is to: Help local government to improve the quality and distribution of local space by:
When one reads this initiative Mr. Mayor one can't help but feel that it was written with the Warrigal Ward in mind. There is no argument that the demographics in the Clayton/Oakleigh area have and are continuing to change. We are with out a doubt experiencing a baby boom in the Warrigal Ward, which is resulting in a change of usage patterns. And these children along with the community need a range of open spaces that are "close to home reducing dependence on car use, meet a variety of needs and stimulate interaction by providing a lively community focus." 2 There is no doubt that Clayton and Oakleigh are deficient in public open spaces. And to address this issue the above initiative provides the gate way to enable local government to develop strategies to maximise the open space and conservation potential of areas such as surplus land from schools provided that the state government is prepared to gift the land to local government in a partnership which involves local government maintaining the land. But none of this can be achieved unless the community is involved. "Open space belongs to the community. Individuals and community groups should therefore be encouraged and invited to take an active role in decision making..." 3 "As open space managers, state and local governments must promote this participation through open consultation, especially when major changes to land management are being proposed. When proposals arise to change the land use of parkland a decision should be made only once the proposal has been exposed to public scrutiny..." 4 The community Mr. Mayor has been screaming to be allowed to be part of the process for a very long time. From day one they have been saying that Riley Street should remain as public open space. But let's not look at Riley Street in isolation. The former Oakleigh South Primary School site located at the corner of Beryl Avenue and Golf Road is just as precious. Mr. Mayor, these are not just my and the communities cries, they are the words of the State Government. Printed in black and white for every one to read. Mr. Mayor I urge all councillors to support the amended recommendation and I hope it will act as the catalyst to bring all parties to the round table. Footnotes: 1
Melbourne 2030 pg. 103 Source: email from Paul Klisaris Nov 13, 2002 |
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