Another council-drafted document has come under fire for
its noncommittal wording and delegation of powers to council
officers.
Macedon Ranges Shire Council currently has on exhibition its draft
Local Law (No.10) for the Macedon Ranges. The current law (No.8) expires on
September 30, 2013.
Council's website states that council makes and enforces
local laws to ensure that we are considerate of others' right to live peacefully
and privately.
'Our new Local Law should meet the needs of the community,
correspond with existing state legislation, consider impacts on our rights and
economic competition and anticipate changes that may occur over the next 10
years,' the website states.
But the Macedon Ranges Residents Association
(MRRA) has criticised the document for shifts in emphasis which make it
ambiguous and for shifting decision-making from councillors to council
officers.
"It's just shuffling everything around and giving priority to the
same types of things that we're seeing in (Planning Scheme Amendment) C84, such
as where there's a 'shall consider' it becomes 'may consider', and 'health and
wellbeing' becomes 'amenity'," MRRA secretary, Christine Pruneau says.
"It's
not just about residents of the shire but about visitors, it's not about meeting
the general expectations of the community.
"We thought Macedon Ranges Shire
Council had matured when it produced Local Law No. 8 in 2003, which has proven
over 10 years to be an effective and balanced instrument. Seems not - council
has gone back to the bad old days by deleting anything purposeful, and replacing
it with light and fluffy requirements, 'get-outs' for anything relating to
events or large-scale tourism."
Ms Pruneau describes the new Local Law as
"empire building" for the administration. She warns that it is a blatant
revenue-raiser which nominates sweeping access to permits and hefty penalties
for infringements.
Under the current Local Law, each penalty point attracts a
fine of $100. The new Local Law frequently nominates 10 or 20 penalty points for
infringements.
"You've got the CEO being able to appoint any person, you've
got instances when it goes from being the council and an authorised officer to
being just an authorised officer... and the CEO now only has to approve of
urgent action in urgent circumstances instead of giving prior approval.
"The
existing Local Law goes to some length explaining process, and your rights, and
that's really stripped out of it.
"Under animals, along with dogs and cats,
now we've got roosters, pigs and farm animals, and you can get a permit to put
them anywhere!
"Now, instead of livestock having to be kept in good fencing,
it's any animal - that makes a big difference, particularly when animal is
defined as any species of quadruped and bird, including kangaroo, emu and
ostrich!
"You got a kangaroo on your property - if it's loose during the day,
$1000 bucks, if it's at night, $2000!
"Coincidentally, the draft council
budget (currently on exhibition) counts on increased fees and charges to
'balance the books' for the next 10 years."
Ms Pruneau encourages concerned
members of the community to make a submission on the draft Local Law.
"They
need to say 'you cannot do this to us' and they need to send something the
Office of Local Government calling for an investigation of these local laws and
council's production of them.
"This is going to affect traders as well, and
farmers," Ms Pruneau warns.
* Two community consultation sessions are
planned for Monday, June 3, at the Gisborne Administration Centre, Council
Chamber, from 10-11.30am; and at Jubilee Hall, Macedon, from 6-7.30pm.
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