During public question time at the last City of Stirling ordinary council meeting (on the 4th of July, 2017) a ratepayer asked what the City’s definition of “amenity” was? Mayor Italiano directed the question to the Acting Director of Planning. The Acting Director’s response was ” we will have to take that question on notice and respond to you in writing”. Prompting gasps of disbelief from the public gallery.
The question and answer was recorded in the minutes (see page 27);
If the Acting Director of Planning and Development couldn’t answer this simple question, you would think the CEO or one of the other directors, managers or even the Mayor could have answered it? After all, Town Planning is Local Government’s main role and the preservation of ‘amenity’ is supposed to be a key objective of Town Planning? Perhaps one of the Governance officers could have quickly looked it up for them?
According to the Scheme Text – City of Stirling Local Planning Scheme No.3 Schedule 1, Page 3 (actual page 119) their definition of ‘amenity’ is;
At least the Mayor attempted to get a response to this particular question from officers. The Mayor has taken to blocking an increasing number of questions from the gallery over the last few months.
According to the Local Government Act 1995 “time is to be allocated for questions to be raised by members of the public and responded to”. This is also stated in the City’s Meeting Procedures Local Law 2009.
Far too many simple questions from the public are going unanswered at City of Stirling council meetings these days and when they do answer them, the responses are often as pathetic as Vogon poetry;
“Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
Thy micturations are to me
As plurdled gabbleblotchits on a lurgid bee.
Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes,
And hooptiously drangle me with crinkly bindlewurdles,
Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts
With my blurglecruncheon, see if I don’t!”
